Tell Me You Love Me
by NiatheWickedLover
Summary: A terrible accident when she was younger leaves Elphaba deaf and mute. Years later, when she goes to Shiz University, she meets Galinda and Fiyero. She falls madly in love with Fiyero, but she knows that he and Galinda are perfect together. How will she tell Fiyero how she really feels if she can't hear or speak?
1. The Accident

"I can't wait!" a young Elphaba Thropp exclaimed to her parents on their way to the circus. Her three-year old eyes were filled with wonder. She looked from her mother to her father. This was the first time they were taking their green daughter away from the protection of the Governor's mansion. They knew that the world could be cruel, and they wanted to protect their only daughter from the horrors of the world. Her mother, Melena, and her father, Frex, smiled down at their daughter.

"Are you excited, Fabala?" Melena asked her daughter. Elphaba nodded her head so hard, it looked like it was about to fall off of her body. Frex and Melena laughed. But that moment was short lived.

It was dark that day. The carriage was going very fast. Everything happened quickly. One moment, Elphaba was sitting in her father's lap, being tickled by her mother. And the next was a blur.

* * *

Elphaba woke up a few hours later in a strange place. She had no idea where she was, or how she got there. She tried to sit up, but she felt so weak. She let out a moan. She looked around the room, trying to find her parents. They weren't there. Elphaba opened her mouth to call her mother, but no sound came out. She tried again. Still no sound. That's when the tears came. Someone must have heard her crying, because the door opened. Elphaba wiped her eyes and looked at the man who had entered the room. He was wearing a white coat and white gloves. She mere sight of him scared Elphaba. She relaxed when she saw her parents behind him. She reached her hands out to her mother and Melena ran in to hug her daughter.

"Oh, Fabala, thank Oz you're alive!" Melena cried. She gently pulled away to face her daughter. Elphaba opened her mouth again, but no words came out. Melena looked shocked. "Fabala, can you hear me?" Melena asked, biting back tears. Elphaba saw her mother's mouth moving, but no sound was coming out. Melena pulled her daughter into another hug. "What happened to her?" Frex asked the doctor.

"Apparently, she hit her head when the carriage crashed. That caused damage to her brain, causing her to lose her hearing and ability to speak. I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do at the moment," the doctor said sadly.

"Can we take her home now?" Melena asked.

"Of course," the doctor said as he began to fill out the papers.

"Come on, Fabala. We're going home," Melena said, picking Elphaba up. Elphaba clung to her mother for the rest of the night.

* * *

Elphaba began to keep to herself. She began to like to be alone. Melena and Frex would try to get Elphaba to go outside and play, but Elphaba would have none of it. They tried multiple ways of communicating with her. None of them worked. Elphaba would sit alone, sometimes reading or drawing a picture. Elphaba would also attempt to tell her parents how she was feeling and what she wanted. Those attempts were also fruitless.

"Frex, how are we going to tell her?" Melena asked one night.

"I don't know, Melena," Frex answered, pacing.

"How will she take it?"

"Melena," Frex said, taking his wife's hands. "I don't know. I just…" he stopped when he saw Elphaba walking up to them. Tears were streaming down her face and she was clutching her teddy bear. Melena got up from the kitchen table, where she was sitting, and went to her daughter. Melena's hazel eyes looked into Elphaba's chocolate ones. Elphaba wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "Oh, Fabala, I'm so sorry!" Melena cried. Frex went into Elphaba's room and took one of her baby dolls from her toy chest. He shortly returned to see that both Melena and Elphaba were crying. Frex put a gentle hand on Elphaba's shoulder. Elphaba slowly turned around and saw her father holding one of her dolls.

"Elphaba," Frex said, even though he knew that Elphaba couldn't hear him. "Mommy and I are going to have another baby." He handed Elphaba her doll. Elphaba looked at it for a while, confused. She looked up at her mother and saw that one of her hands was on her flat stomach. Elphaba began to slowly put the pieces together. She shoved her doll back into her father's hands and shook her head. She didn't want another baby.

"Fabala, don't be afraid. It's going to be wonderful!" Melena said, taking small green hands into hers. Elphaba was breathing hard. She slowly began to calm down. She reached out her hand and felt her mother's stomach. A slow smile crept its way onto Elphaba's face.

* * *

The months went by on very quickly. Elphaba was sitting in her mother's lap, while Melena brushed Elphaba's long, raven hair. Suddenly, Melena stopped brushing. Elphaba turned around to see her mother breathing hard. Her eyes widened when she realized what was happening. She jumped out of her mother's lap and ran to get her father. Frex looked up and saw the fear in Elphaba's eyes. He ran into the room to be with Melena. Elphaba followed, but Frex stopped her. "No, sweetie. You must stay out here." Elphaba waited at the door for what seemed like forever. Finally, her father came out. Elphaba smiled, but she frowned when she saw that he was covered in blood. She began to peak inside the room. Frex tried to stop her from going inside the room, but Elphaba pushed through anyway. The sight she saw gave her the scare of her life. Her mother was lying on the bed, lifeless and covered in blood. Elphaba slowly walked up to her mother. She gently began to shake her arm, something she used to do when she wanted her parents to wake up. When Melena didn't move, Elphaba began to cry. She had lost her mother.

Frex came into the room. He picked up the small baby girl and showed her to Elphaba. Elphaba looked down at the tiny face of her little sister and smiled.

"Her name is Nessarose," Frex said.

* * *

**Just trying out a new story! Tell me what you think!**


	2. The Diary

Elphaba and Nessa began to grow older. Elphaba enjoyed having her younger sister around her. But, as Nessa became more popular in school, she began to avoid Elphaba. She would stop inviting Elphaba to sit with her at lunch. She stopped asking Elphaba if she wanted to walk home together. This did not go unnoticed by Elphaba. Elphaba was actually a very smart girl. She was on the top of her class. She had become very good at lip reading. It really came in handy, especially when Nessa and her friends were gossiping about her.

"Nessa, is that your sister over there?" one of the girls asked Nessa.

Nessa looked over at her sister, who was sitting by herself. "Yes," she whispered.

"Why is she green?" the girl asked.

"I don't know. I never asked her."

"Why not?"

"She can't talk."

"She can't or she won't?"

"She can't. She can't hear either."

Elphaba looked up at her sister. As soon as she saw Nessa looking back at her, Elphaba immediately looked back down at her book.

* * *

Elphaba hurried home that day. "Elphaba! Elphaba!" Nessa called after her sister. She knew that it was useless. Nessa stopped to catch her breath. Elphaba turned around when she realized that her sister wasn't behind her. She sighed and ran back for her sister. _Sure, now she wants me around_, Elphaba thought as she offered Nessa her hand. Nessa gave her an apologetic smile and accepted the green hand that was offered to her.

"Nessa, come walk with us!" a girl named Milla called when she saw Nessa. Nessa was about to run to her, when Elphaba grabbed her hand. _Please, stay with me!_ Elphaba thought, looking Nessa directly in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Fabala," Nessa whispered as she ran to join Milla. Elphaba was left to walk home alone.

* * *

Elphaba walked into the Governor's mansion. She wiped her feet on the mat and went to look for her father, who was probably in his office. Sure enough, that's where she found him.

"Hello, Fabala! How was school today?" Frex asked.

Elphaba shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to tell him that Nessa left her alone, again.

"Where's Nessarose?" Frex asked, searching for the 10-year-old girl. Tears began to slowly form in Elphaba's eyes. She bit her lip and turned away. "Don't cry, Fabala!" she said as he rubbed her back. "I'll talk with Nessarose."

* * *

Nessa walked in a few minutes later. She was still laughing from the jokes Milla had told her. Her smile quickly faded when she saw the scowl on her father's face.

"Nessarose!" Frex said sternly.

"Hello, Papa!" Nessa greeted.

"Elphaba came home alone today."

"Papa, I…"

"Nessa, you know that I don't want Elphaba to walk home alone."

"Papa, I wanted to walk home with my friends."

"What friends?"

"Milla and Rena."

"Nessa, you know that Elphaba…"

"Papa," Nessa whispered. "I shouldn't have to give up my friends just because of Elphaba."

"Nessa, I'm not asking you to do that. Just, be more considerate of your sister."

"Okay, Papa. I will."

Frex hugged his younger daughter. "Thank you!"

Nessa ran upstairs. She went into her room and dropped her bag next to her desk. She jumped on her bed and went into her secret drawer to find her diary. When she opened her drawer, her diary was gone. She tore up her room looking for it. It suddenly dawned on her where her diary might be.

* * *

Elphaba ran into her room, hugging Nessa's diary against her chest. She wasn't going to read her sister's diary; she wasn't that type of person. She was just going to keep it, as a hostage, if you will. She closed the door and locked it. She hid the diary under her pillow and went to her desk to start her homework.

"Fabala! Fabala! Open the door this instant!" Nessa shouted as she banged against the door. "Right now, Elphaba! I know you're in there!"

A wicked grin appeared on Elphaba's lips. She could sense Nessa on the other side of the door. She let out a small giggle as Nessa continued to bang on the door.

"Fabala, I'm not joking! If I find out that you read my diary, I will… I will…"

_Sweet Oz, this is too good!_ Elphaba smirked. She got up and opened the door for her sister. Nessa stormed into the room. Her face was red and she looked like a wretch.

"Where is it?" Nessa asked. Elphaba did her best to put on a confused face. "Fabala, don't do that! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Nessa was near tears. Elphaba's face softened. She didn't mean to hurt Nessa. Elphaba went to her bed and grabbed the diary from under her pillow. She handed it to her sister. Nessa snatched it from Elphaba's hands and held it against her chest. "You didn't read it, did you?"

Elphaba shook her head. She held out her arms to Nessa, wanting a hug. Nessa started to walk out, but then she turned around and saw the apologetic look on Elphaba's face. No matter what happened between the two sisters, Nessa and Elphaba always made up in the end. "I love you!" Nessa whispered into Elphaba shoulder as she hugged her sister.

* * *

The next morning, Nessa ran into Elphaba's room and jumped on the bed. She did this until Elphaba opened her eyes.

"Fabala, wake up!" Nessa said.

Elphaba groaned and reached over to her nightstand to retrieve her glasses. She pushed them onto her nose, bringing Nessa into focus. She forced a smile on her face.

Nessa smiled down on her sister. "Happy Birthday, Elphaba!" she sang.

Elphaba smiled. She had totally forgotten that it was her birthday. She hugged her younger sister and got out of bed. She went into the bathroom to get ready for the school day. When she came out, Nessa was waiting for her with a hairbrush. Before Elphaba could protest, Nessa dragged her to the edge of the bed and began to brush her hair. Elphaba's hair was still wet from the shower, and it was very tangled. Elphaba bit back the urge to scream out in pain. She pressed her palms together in her lap. Nessa rubbed her sister's shoulder to tell her that she was sorry and that she was almost finished. She allowed Elphaba's long hair to cascade down her back like a waterfall and ran out of the room to get something. She returned shortly with a little princess tiara. She carefully placed it in her sister's hair. She giggled as she handed Elphaba the hand mirror. Elphaba smiled as she looked up at her sister. She was going to have the best birthday ever!


	3. Elphaba's Birthday

**Thank you all for your positive feedback. To answer your question, Elphaba'sGirl, she can lip read. And she's very good at it. Sorry for confusyfing you! And now, Chapter 3!**

* * *

Elphaba and Nessa walked down the stairs, into the dining room. They were greeted with a hug from their father.

"Good morning, girls!" Frex said, giving his daughters a hug.

"Good morning, Papa!" Nessa said. Elphaba gave her father a hug.

"Now, I believe it's someone's birthday today!" Frex said, looking at Elphaba. Elphaba smiled as she readjusted the tiara on her head. "Happy Birthday, Fabala!" Frex said as kissed the top of Elphaba's head.

"What are we going to have for breakfast, Papa?" Nessa asked, sitting down at the table. One of their maids came in with their food. There were pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Nessa squealed in delight. "I wish it could be Elphaba's birthday everyday!" Elphaba laughed as she ate her breakfast. It was so much better than the cold cereal she usually ate.

"Goodbye, Papa!" Nessa called as she and Elphaba left the house.

"Goodbye, girls! Have a nice day!" Frex called back as he went back into the house.

Elphaba smiled as she observed her surroundings. She was holding her books in one hand, and Nessa's hand in her other. She turned around when Nessa tugged at her arm. She looked at her smiling sister as she pulled her into a field of wild flowers. Nessa knelt down in the grass. She picked up a blue wild flower, took the tiara off of Elphaba's head and replaced it with the flower. Elphaba gently touched the flower in her hair and smiled. Elphaba took a flower and placed it in Nessa's hair. It was one of the few moments that the Thropp sisters were able to share without any interruptions.

* * *

The morning at the school went by very quickly. It was now recess. Nessa ran to the swing set with Milla and Rena. Elphaba sat under a tree with her book and an apple. She was so distracted by her book that she didn't see the boys coming closer to her.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" one of the boys asked.

"It's the deaf artichoke!" the other boy said.

Elphaba looked up and saw the three boys towering over her. _Please, not today!_ Elphaba silently begged. _Not on my birthday!_ She tried her best not to show her fear, but when they started to pick up rocks, she got worried. That's when it all began. She felt someone tugging her hair back. She let out a small whimper. Her glasses were snatched from their proper place on her nose, making her vision blurry. She closed her eyes, hoping that this would be over quickly. She felt a small rock hit her arm. She ducked and covered her face when more rocks began to pelt her. _Nessa, please, help me!_ Elphaba begged as another rock whizzed past her head.

"Nessa, is that your sister over there?" Rena asked, noticing Elphaba.

Nessa looked over to where Rena was pointing. She gasped when she saw that the boys were throwing rocks at her sister. She jumped off the swing and landed on her knees. She got up and ran to her sister. "Hey! Stop it! Leave her alone!" Nessa shouted at the boys. They turned around and looked Nessa dead in the eyes. They were much taller than she was, but she didn't care.

"Take care of her!" the tallest boy said. The other two boys approached the small brunette. Nessa gulped. One of them picked her up and flung her over her shoulder.

"Put me down!" Nessa commanded him. The boys just laughed. Nessa cried out for her sister. She knew where the boys were taking her. And she didn't like it one bit.

There was a small lake by the school. "Here?" the boy who wasn't carrying Nessa asked.

"Yup. Here," the other boy answered.

"What are you… oh no!" Nessa said as she eyed the water. She didn't know how to swim. The boys laughed as they threw Nessa into the water, producing an ear-piercing scream from the young girl. Then they ran off. "Help me!" Nessa screamed, struggling to stay afloat.

"Nessa, grab my hand!" Milla shouted as she held out her hand to Nessa. Nessa grabbed it. Rena grabbed onto Milla's waist and helped her pull Nessa out of the water. Nessa coughed as she hugged her friends.

"Thank you!" she said. "Where's Elphaba?" she asked. The girls ran back to the playground. The tallest boy stopped throwing rocks at Elphaba and was currently taunting her.

"What's wrong with you?" he roared at her.

_Stop it! Please!_ Elphaba cried.

"Leave her alone!" all three girls shouted together. The boy turned around to see Nessa, Rena and Milla standing behind him.

"Milla… I…" the boy started, having a huge crush on the young, redheaded girl.

"You are a horrible piece of scum! Now let her go!" Milla shouted.

_Wow!_ Nessa thought. _She may be small, but she means business._

The boy released Elphaba's hair and stalked off. Elphaba looked up and saw three blurry figures running towards her. She was about to get up and run away when she realized that one of them was her sister.

"Elphaba?" Nessa asked softly. She wrapped her arms around the green girl, but loosened her grip when she heard Elphaba gasp in pain. "Come on, let's get you to the nurse," Nessa said, helping Elphaba up and leading her back inside of the school.

"Are you alright?" Nessa asked once they were in the nurses' office. She placed her hand on Elphaba's shoulder. Elphaba nodded. She wasn't badly hurt. She was a little sore, but she didn't think any of her bones were broken. The nurse gave her an ice pack and told the girls that they could go home a little early. Nessa thanked the nurse as she and Elphaba left for the day.

* * *

When they got home that day, Frex was surprised that they were home early. "What happened?" he asked them. "Elphaba, where are your glasses? Nessa, why are you soaking wet?"

Nessa was about to answer when Elphaba gripped her hand. Nessa covered her mouth so Elphaba couldn't tell what she was saying. "I'll tell you later, Papa."

The girls went upstairs. Nessa dried off and put on dry clothes. Elphaba knocked on her door a few minutes later. Nessa opened the door for her sister. She was still trying to brush her hair. Elphaba walked in and her eyes suddenly fell on Nessa's knees. There was a very bad scrape on her right knee. Elphaba pointed to it and looked at Nessa. Nessa looked down and remembered what happened that day. She had jumped off of the swing and landed on her knees when she saw that her sister was in trouble. That must have been how she got the scrape. "It's nothing," she said to Elphaba. Elphaba shook her head and ran out of the room. She returned with a cloth and some Band-Aids. Nessa smiled as her sister knelt down in front of her and began to clean off her wound and put a Band-Aid on it. It was times like these when Nessa was glad that Elphaba was her big sister.

* * *

"Nessa, what happened today?" Frex asked as he tucked his youngest daughter into her bed.

"Some of the boys were being mean to Elphaba," Nessa answered as she rubbed her leg.

"How did you get that?" Frex asked.

"I… I… jumped off of the swings."

"Nessarose!"

"Elphaba was in trouble!" Nessa defended herself. "I didn't mean to. It was just like a… a reflex!"

Frex sighed. His anger quickly subsided when he looked down at Nessa. "Goodnight, pet."

"Goodnight, Papa," Nessa said as she snuggled with her brown teddy bear and went to sleep.


	4. Shiz University

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Elphaba'sGirl, Nessa is normal. Please keep reviewing. Reviews make me write faster! Thank you and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Fabala, don't go!" Nessa, now 15, said to Elphaba, who was now 18. Elphaba was going off to college at Shiz University. Nessa had never been away from her sister for more than a few hours, other than school. Elphaba gave Nessa a reassuring smile. Nessa was going with Elphaba for the carriage ride, but would be returning back to Munchkinland with their father the same day. Nessa couldn't bear to part with her sister. "I don't want you to go!"

Elphaba wiped the tears from Nessa's cheeks. They weren't even there yet, and Nessa was already missing her. Of course Elphaba was going to miss her sister, but she felt that she was ready to go off on her own.

"Nessa, dear, you're not making this any easier," Frex said, gently hugging Nessa.

"I want to stay with her!" Nessa sobbed.

"Shhh! It's okay!" Frex comforted.

The carriage pulled up to the university. Elphaba was the first one out of the carriage. It felt good to stand up and stretch out her leg after a three-hour carriage ride. She looked around at the big buildings of the university. She started to feel a little bit overwhelmed. But, she knew if she let it show, Nessa would never leave her alone. Nessa got out of the carriage next. She had stopped crying, and was now ready to let Elphaba explore a new chapter in her life.

"Welcome new students!" a woman in elaborate robes said, coming out to great the new students. "I am Madame Morrible, head Shiztress here at Shiz University. Ah, yes, and now, room assignments."

Elphaba watched closely, waiting for Madame Morrible to call her name. "And Miss Elphaba Thropp will room with Miss Galinda Upland."

"Of the Upper Uplands!" a girl called out. Nessa turned her head to look at the girl who would be sharing a room with her sister. She had blonde hair that was gently curled at the ends. She was wearing a white uniform and carrying a small, white purse. She was sitting on a tower of luggage. She waved at Nessa, thinking that she was going to room with her. She paid no attention to the green girl standing next to her. An Antelope began to push Galinda and her tower of luggage towards the girl's dormitories. Nessa and Elphaba exchanged looks, laughed and followed the blonde.

* * *

While they were unpacking, Galinda attempted to make conversation with Nessa, whom she assumed was Elphaba.

"Well… um… hi," Galinda said to Nessa.

"Hello Miss Galinda. I'm Nessarose."

"It's very nice to meet… wait, what did you say your name was?"

"Nessarose. That's Elphaba," Nessa explained, making a graceful gesture towards her sister. She was trying so hard not to laugh at the mix-up.

"That's Elphaba?" Galinda whispered. Nessa nodded. "She's…" Glinda didn't finish her sentence.

"Green? Yeah, I know. Don't worry, it's not contagious. If it was, I would have been green by now," Nessa laughed.

Galinda looked over at Elphaba again. She was carefully putting her dresses into the closet. She was humming a song that sounded like a lullaby under her breath. It was surprisingly on key.

"I don't know how she does that!" Nessa exclaimed.

"What?" Galinda asked.

"Oh, nothing," Nessa said, not knowing if Elphaba wanted her to tell Galinda her secret yet.

"Are you staying? I didn't hear Madame Morrible call your name."

"I'm not. I'm only 15. I have to go back to Munchkinland with our father today. I just wanted to say goodbye to Elphaba," Nessa answered sadly.

"Oh," was all that Galinda could say.

Elphaba turned around to look at her sister and new roommate. Nessa gave her sister a goofy-looking smile. Elphaba could tell that Galinda mixed up the two sisters. She chuckled at the thought and resumed putting her dresses away.

"What's she like?" Galinda asked Nessa, afraid of approaching the green girl.

"She's strong-willed, opinionated, caring, and um…" Nessa was considering adding _mute_ and _deaf_ to the list of adjectives, but decided against it. "Different," she said, for lack of a better word.

"Really?" Galinda asked, half-sarcastically.

"In more ways than one," Nessa muttered under her breath. Galinda gave her a confused look, but didn't say anything.

"Miss Nessarose!" a voice called from down the hall. Galinda and Nessa turned around and saw Madame Morrible standing in the doorway. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but your father is requesting your presence back at the entrance. He says that it is time for you to return to Munchkinland."

"Thank you, Madame," Nessa said as nodded to the headmistress. She walked over to Elphaba. "It's time for me to go now, Fabala," Nessa said sadly. Elphaba looked up from her suitcase. Nessa was trying her best not to cry. Elphaba stood up and hugged her sister. "I promise to write," Nessa said when she was released from her sister's hug. Elphaba smiled and nodded.

During this, Galinda wondered why Elphaba didn't say anything to her sister. _Maybe she's in so much pain to see her sister go, she can't say anything at all_, she thought. That was perfectly understandable to her. There have been many times when she felt so much pain while saying goodbye to someone that she couldn't say anything. Unknown to Galinda at the time, Elphaba didn't have a choice.

After Nessa left, Elphaba decided that she wanted to finish the book she was reading. She was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed in front of her. Galinda was sitting down in front of her mirror, brushing her hair.

"Miss Elphaba, would you be so kind as to hand me my bag?" Galinda asked. Elphaba didn't answer her. "Miss Elphaba?" she called again. "MISS ELPHABA!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. _Why is she ignoring me?_ Galinda thought. Galinda turned around to face the green girl. She stomped over to her bed. Elphaba looked up and saw an unhappy Galinda looking down at her. Elphaba closed her book. Galinda narrowed her eyes at Elphaba and huffed. She grabbed her bag and sat back down in front of her mirror.

Elphaba was confused. Why was Miss Galinda angry with her?

* * *

The first day of classes wasn't particularly exciting for either one of the girls. Elphaba woke up first. _I can't believe I got through a night without Nessa_, Elphaba thought as she got out of bed. _I wonder how Nessa is doing. Hopefully, she didn't miss me too much._

Elphaba quickly got dressed for the day. She chose to wear a navy blue dress with a white sweater. She brushed out her hair. She remembered when Nessa used to brush her hair when they were younger. She decided to leave her hair down. She took out a small picture from her bag and studied it. Unknown by the rest of her family, she would do this every morning and every night. It was a picture of her mother, father and herself together. This was before Nessa was born. Before the accident. Before her world was changed forever. A few tears fell from her eyes. She missed her mother. She missed her old life. She took a deep breath, returned the photo to her bag, and quietly left the room.

Elphaba quickly found her way around the campus. She would watch as students stopped and stared at her. She didn't like it, but she was used to it. She was also glad that she couldn't hear the whispers or the rumors that she knew was going to start eventually. She would have her first test right about… now.

"And she completely ignored me!" Galinda complained to her friends.

"How rude of her!" a girl named ShenShen said.

"Quite rude!" agreed another girl named Avanna.

"And, on top of that, she's green!" Galinda said in disgust. The two girls laughed.

"Oh, Galinda! I know that you are upset with her, but there's no way she's green," ShenShen laughed. Galinda caught sight of Elphaba. "If you don't believe me, turn around and see for yourselves."

ShenShen and Avanna turned around. Their mouths dropped open in complete and utter shock. Galinda smirked. "Oh my Oz, Galinda. You were serious!" Avanna managed to say.

"She's as green as a vegetable!" ShenShen muttered.

Elphaba pretended that she didn't know that the girls were there, much less knew what they were saying. She just kept walking, eyes on her shoes, avoiding everyone's gazes.


	5. Secrets and Memories

Elphaba was sitting alone in her room, trying to figure out why Miss Galinda was upset with her. _Maybe she was trying to tell me something and I wasn't paying attention_, Elphaba thought. That seemed like the most valid reason. _But, what was she trying to tell me?_ Elphaba would soon get an answer to that question. Miss Galinda entered the room, dropped her bags on floor, and flopped onto her bed in exhaustion. Elphaba watched her very closely. What was in that bag that made it so heavy? _Probably a whole store's worth of make-up_, Elphaba thought, knowing Miss Galinda's personality. Galinda slowly turned around to face Elphaba. They were staring at each other for what seemed like forever. A knock on the door interrupted their unofficial staring contest. Galinda opened it to find ShenShen and Avanna standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Galinda!" Avanna greeted.

"Hello, girls! What can I help you with?' Galinda asked, inviting them in.

ShenShen and Avanna stepped inside. "We were just wondering if you and your… roommate were doing anything."

"We weren't doing anything. Why?"

"Well, we were hoping that you would join us for a little outing. We hoped that you weren't to bored with… the green artichoke," Avanna said.

_The green artichoke has feelings_, Elphaba wanted to cry out.

Galinda glanced back at her roommate. Elphaba pretended to be reading her book.

"Miss Elphaba?" ShenShen asked. Elphaba chose to ignore her, not wanting to start and commotions.

"Don't bother, ShenShen. She doesn't talk to anyone. Sometimes, I wonder if she even hears us," Galinda said with a huff as she left the room with her friends, not even bothering to look back at Elphaba. _Well, Miss Galinda, it seems that there is a brain in that blonde head of yours!_ Elphaba smirked.

When Galinda came back to their dorm that night, she found Elphaba asleep in her bed. But Elphaba wasn't asleep. She couldn't sleep with the storm outside. She wasn't afraid of storms, but Nessa was. The memory of a thunderstorm one night flooded into Elphaba's memory.

* * *

_Nessa was three years old. Elphaba was six. Elphaba was sitting on her bed, her legs pulled up against her chest. She enjoyed watching the lightning in the sky. It was a wonder to her. Nessa, on the other hand, was terrified of storms, or anything that made a loud noise. One night, while Elphaba was sleeping peacefully in her room, Nessa ran in._

_"Fabala!" she called. It hadn't completely sunk in that Elphaba couldn't hear her. "Fabala!" she called again, wondering why her sister didn't answer her. She ran to her sister's bed and shook her arm. Elphaba awoke with a start. She reached for her glasses and turned on the lights. She wasn't surprised to see Nessa standing there. This was not the first time she ran into her older sister's room, wanting comfort from the storm. Nessa couldn't understand how Elphaba could sleep through a storm like this one. Elphaba moved over in her bed and Nessa automatically climbed into the bed next to her sister. "Fabala?" Nessa asked in a sleepy tone. Elphaba began to stroke Nessa's shoulder length, dark brown hair. "How do you sleep through storms like this?" Nessa's eyes widened as the thunder pounded inside her ears. She snuggled closer to her sister. Elphaba tried to think back to when she was afraid of thunderstorms. Her mother would sing to her._

_"Will you sing to me?" Nessa asked, as if reading Elphaba's mind._

_Elphaba really wanted to, but she couldn't. She wanted so much to have her old life back, have her mother with her, talk with her sister, having the life that was taken away from her too soon. She slowly started to rock Nessa to sleep._

* * *

_Nessa_, Elphaba silently begged for her sister to be with her. Was this level of homesickness normal? She didn't realize that she was crying until she felt her pillow getting wet. She turned her pillow over. She was really homesick. Should she have gone to Munchkinland College? No, she wanted to come here. She wanted freedom. She wanted her father to stop over-protecting her. She wanted to be a big sister to Nessa, instead of always having Nessa taking care of her. This was probably going to be her only chance she was going to get to prove that she could be on her own. She wiped her eyes with the back on her hand and tried to return to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Galinda woke up early. She found Elphaba twisted in her bedding, moaning in her sleep. Even though she didn't give a twig about her green roommate, she didn't want to see her in that much pain. Galinda slowly approached Elphaba and shook her shoulder. Elphaba woke up and stared into Galinda's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Galinda asked.

Elphaba nodded and untangled her bed sheets. Galinda went back to her bed. The thunderstorm was still raging outside. She tried to go back to sleep, but the thunder startled her. Elphaba looked up and saw Galinda trembling in her bed. She slowly got out of bed and approached her roommate. She put a gentle hand on Galinda's arm. Galinda looked up into Elphaba's eyes and smiled. Why was the green girl being so nice to her?

* * *

"Fabala will be so surprised!" Nessa exclaimed as she dragged her father through the grounds of Shiz.

"I'm sure she will," Frex agreed.

"I bet she's missed us!" Nessa exclaimed.

"I'm sure she did," Frex said with a tired laugh.

"There she is!" Nessa shouted in triumph when she found Elphaba sitting under a tree, reading a book, as usual. Nessa ran to her sister before Frex could stop her.

"Elphaba!" Nessa sang as she ran to Elphaba. She threw her arms around Elphaba's neck, startling her. Elphaba turned around and a surprised smile appeared on her face. Frex came over a knelt down next to his daughters.

"Oh, Fabala! I've missed you so much!" Nessa cried, unconsciously tightening her grip around Elphaba's neck.

"Nessa, let Elphaba breathe!" Frex said, noticing that Elphaba was gently trying to pry her sister off of her neck. Nessa released her sister and blushed. Elphaba smiled at being able to breathe again.

"Why are you sitting all by yourself?" Nessa asked.

_Because everyone wants to socialize with the green bean._ Elphaba rolled her eyes.

"Where's Galinda?" Nessa asked, taking Elphaba hands into her own. Elphaba just shrugged her shoulders. Galinda would be anywhere away from her.

"Are you girls hungry?" Frex asked. Nessa and Elphaba nodded. Frex reached into his wallet and pulled out some money. "Here, you girls can go to the café. I have to go to a meeting with Madame Morrible." Frex kissed his daughters and went into the offices. Nessa pulled Elphaba to her feet and went off to the café.

* * *

Galinda was in the café with her friends. When she saw Nessa and Elphaba come in, she got up and went over to them. As soon as Elphaba saw Galinda coming closer, she walked away.

"Hi, Nessa!" Galinda chirped.

"Hi, Galinda! How are you?" Nessa gleefully asked.

"Fine, thanks! You're here visiting Elphaba?"

"Yeah. Our father had a meeting in the Emerald City and decided to stop here on the way."

"Oh."

"How is it going with you and Elphaba?"

"Okay, I guess. She's kind of shy."

"Shy? Really?" Nessa asked, surprised.

"She doesn't talk to anyone. Not even me."

"She doesn't? Wait, stupid question. Of course she doesn't," Nessa said, mentally smacking herself.

"What?"

"Oh, you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Nessa sighed. "Galinda, Elphaba hasn't been ignoring you."

"What?" Galinda repeated.

"She can't hear… or speak."

"What?" Galinda shouted.

Nessa shook her head. "What happened to her?" Galinda asked.

"All I know is that there was an accident before I was born."

"What type of accident?"

"I don't know. Elphaba doesn't like to think about it."

"That explains so much!" Galinda sighed.

"I bet it does!" Nessa laughed.

"But, do you talk to her?"

"I do."

"And she knows what you're saying?"

"I think so. I mean, she can lip read really well."

They stopped their conversation when Elphaba appeared next to them. Nessa put on a fake smile for her sister. Elphaba looked from Nessa to Galinda. Her eyes were filled with confusion. Then, she saw Galinda smiling at her. Like, actually smiling. Elphaba suddenly realized what was going on. Nessa had told Galinda her secret. Her secret that she had managed to keep a secret, until now.


	6. Let's Go Down to the Ozdust Ballroom

Rage burned within Elphaba. How could Nessa do this to her? Then again, maybe Nessa thought that Galinda knew. Elphaba was perfectly fine with people thinking that she just ignored them, not wanting to be sociable. And who could blame the green girl?

"Elphaba?" Nessa asked when she saw Elphaba biting her lip. Elphaba's face began to flush, which made her skin turn a darker shade of green. Elphaba breathing became very rigid. Galinda stepped closer to Elphaba and took her hand. Elphaba jerked away and ran out of the café.

"Elphaba!" Nessa called after her sister.

"Come on!" Galinda urged as she and Nessa ran out of the café.

* * *

They found Elphaba sitting on her bed crying. Nessa and Galinda slowly approached her.

"Fabala?" Nessa said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Elphaba looked up at her sister. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Elphaba knew that she couldn't stay mad at her sister forever. A smile slowly made its way onto her face. Nessa sat on the bed next to Elphaba and gave her a hug. She released her sister when she saw what time it is. "My Oz, look at the time! Papa has to leave now. I completely lost track of the time!" Elphaba giggled. Nessa never lost track of the time. In fact, if it weren't for Nessa, the Thropp family would always be late for everything and never know what time it is.

"I have to go now," Nessa said, giving Elphaba a final hug and running out the room, leaving Galinda and Elphaba alone together. Galinda slowly approached Elphaba. While she did, she saw Elphaba physically stiffen.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I had no idea," Galinda said in a comforting voice. Elphaba still didn't relax. "How can I make it up to you?" Elphaba turned around and looked at the blonde sitting next to her. No one had ever asked her that before. Elphaba didn't want pity. She wanted to be normal. She wanted a normal life and normal friends. She wanted to be one of those girls that boys will do anything, no matter how stupid, for. Instead, she just shook her head and went into the bathroom. Galinda felt really bad. She thought that Elphaba was just a mean person in general. If she had known, things might have been different. Then, a light bulb went off in her head. She knew exactly what she was going to do.

Galinda began to do everything for Elphaba. She began to wait on her hand and foot. It was getting on Elphaba last nerves. She didn't know how much more she could take of 'Elphaba, do you need any help?' or 'Elphaba, I can do that for you'. Elphaba was perfectly capable of doing things herself. Though, she couldn't put all of the blame on Galinda, no matter how hard she tried. That's why she was thankful to Fiyero Tigelaar.

The Vinkun Prince came to Shiz a week ago. And every girl began to drool over him, including Galinda. She was so grateful to Fiyero for taking Galinda off of her back.

* * *

"Galinda, are you going to the dance?" Avanna asked Galinda one day.

"Yea! I'm going with Fiyero! I can't wait!" Galinda exclaimed.

"Is Miss Elphaba coming?" ShenShen asked.

"Well… I don't know. I not think so. She doesn't do anything except read and study."

"You should ask her."

"She… she…"

"Delivery for Miss Galinda Upland!" a voice interrupted them. All three girls turned around to find a deliveryman standing behind them. Galinda signed the paper and took the package from him. With a short bow, he left. Galinda opened the package to find a black, pointed hat in there with a note. ShenShen and Avanna wrinkled their noses in disgust. Galinda picked up the note and read it.

_My Darling Galinda,_

_I found this hat in the Upper Uplands and thought of you. Hope you collage life is going well and can't wait to see you again._

_~Granny_

"What in Oz's name?" exclaimed ShenShen, taking the hat from Galinda.

"Pretend you didn't see that. My granny is always sending me the most hidiodious hats! I'd give it away, but I don't hate anyone that much," Galinda said, also wrinkling her nose.

"Yes, you do!" Avanna said in a playful tone.

"Who?" Galinda asked.

As if by fate, Elphaba walked in, holding her books close to her chest, her eyes not leaving the floor. She set the books down on her desk very carefully and went to her bed to read. She flopped down on the bed with her back turned to Galinda.

"I couldn't!" Galinda protested.

ShenShen and Avanna laughed. "What? She deserves it after being rude to you. And you didn't do anything to her."

"I… I…"

"Galinda, you have to do this!" ShenShen said, giving the hat back to Galinda. With that, they left Galinda alone to think. Should she do this? True, she didn't like the hat, but that doesn't mean that Elphaba wouldn't. Elphaba doesn't usually wear anything pretty. But this hat wasn't pretty. It was downright ugly. But Elphaba might like it. One person's trash, another one's treasure. Slowly, Galinda took a deep breath and walked over to Elphaba. Sensing the blonde approaching her, Elphaba turned around and sat up, waiting for Galinda to offer to do something for her. Looking at Elphaba's hard face made Galinda quiver. She slowly held out the hat to Elphaba.

"I was wondering if you would like to wear this hat to the party?" Galinda asked with a smile on her face. Elphaba gave her a skeptical look_. And who says that I'm going to this party?_ she thought.

"You would look so pretty in it!" Galinda said, setting the hat in Elphaba's lap. Elphaba took the hat into her hands and examined it. She thought that it was pretty. Galinda shifted her weight, hoping that Elphaba wouldn't see through the prank. Much to her surprise, Elphaba smiled at her. Her chocolate eyes were sparkling. She gave Galinda a slight nod. Maybe she should go to the party. Who knows, she might have fun.

* * *

_This is it_, Elphaba thought as she approached the entrance to the Ozdust ballroom. She was wearing a black frock and dark brown boots. Her hair was in a braid down her back and she was wearing the hat Galinda gave her. _Maybe this is just some big prank!_ Elphaba was having doubts. No one was really nice to her, except her sister and her friends. Even if it was, Elphaba was determined to have a good time. She took a deep breath and went into the ballroom.

As soon as she entered, everything stopped. She looked out over the people staring at her. She saw some of them covering their mouths, trying to suppress their laughter. She violently ripped the hat off of her head. She looked at Galinda, who was wearing a pink, frilly dress, wrapped in the arms of a boy, whom Elphaba assumed was Fiyero. She saw Galinda eyes sparkle with tears. _So, it was a prank! Galinda had tricked me!_ Elphaba wanted to run out crying, but that would be admitting to defeat. So, instead, she placed the hat back on her head and gracefully walked down the stairs. She glanced at the orchestra, who had stopped playing to stare at her. She took a deep breath and started to move her arms around in circles, her way of dancing. She didn't care if there was music or not. She was determined not to let Galinda win. She was doing this for what seemed like forever, but in reality, it was only about 45 seconds before Galinda had seen enough. She slowly stepped closer to Elphaba and tapped on her shoulder.

"May I cut in?" Galinda asked. Elphaba stepped aside to give Galinda more room. What came next surprised her. Galinda was doing Elphaba's dance almost as badly as she was. Elphaba was shocked. She looked over at the orchestra and saw that they started to play again. Galinda began to move more gracefully and Elphaba joined in. After a while, everyone else began to do the dance. Elphaba slightly shuddered when she felt Galinda ship her hand into her own. Elphaba looked over to her, but didn't smile. She was still really mad about the prank. She pulled her hand away and slowly walked out of the Ozdust.

"Elphaba!" Galinda called out after her, but Elphaba didn't come back.


	7. A True, True Friend

Elphaba broke out into a run. She had to get away from Galinda. She was able to take other pranks mean kids pulled on her. She didn't know why she had finally broken down with this one. It was just as big a mystery it was to Galinda as it was Elphaba.

"Elphaba!" Galinda shouted, upset that she was running in her good heals.

She followed Elphaba back into their dorm room. When she opened the door, she found Elphaba lying on her bed. Her face was buried in her pillow and she was sobbing.

"Elphaba?" Galinda asked, slowly approaching her roommate.

Elphaba didn't stop crying. Galinda's heart broke in two. It wasn't her intention to really hurt Elphaba. She actually wanted to become the green girl's friend. Galinda gently placed her hand on Elphaba's shoulder. Elphaba looked up into Galinda's eyes. She gritted her teeth threw her hat at Galinda's face. Galinda blinked a few times, trying to process what just happened.

"Okay… I guess that I deserved that," Galinda admitted. "Elphaba, I really am sorry. At least listen to me!" Galinda immediately regretted what she just said. Elphaba looked at her, her eyes filled with rage and she was probably thoughts that were best left unsaid.

"Elphaba…" Galinda whispered.

Elphaba's eyes narrowed at Galinda. She was not ready to forgive Galinda. She could deal with heartless, idiotic pranks. But this was downright mean. Elphaba turned away, wishing that she could be anywhere except here. Tears were still streaming down her face. Galinda gently lifted her hand and wiped the tears from Elphaba's cheek. Elphaba winced at the touch. "Please," Galinda whispered. "I really am sorry. Don't you believe me?"

_Please don't make me answer that_, Elphaba thought, looking down. She slowly closed her eyes. She didn't want to forgive Galinda yet, but deep down, she knew that if she kept all of her anger bottled up inside of her like that, she would eventually have to let it go. And, Oz forbid, she let it go on her father or sister. She had to forgive Galinda. Elphaba took a deep breath and looked at Galinda. Tears were forming in Galinda's eyes. Galinda walked away and went to sit on the edge of her bed, her back to Elphaba and hung her head in shame. _She really is sorry._

Elphaba got up and walked over to Galinda. She sat down next to her and placed her emerald hand over Galinda's cream one. Galinda looked up at Elphaba. "I'm so sorry, Elphaba!" Galinda sobbed into Elphaba's shoulder. The emerald girl began to rub small circles on her crying roommate's back. Galinda slowly began to calm down.

"Does this mean that we're friends again?" she asked. Elphaba nodded. This made Galinda smile. She wrapped her arms around her friend's neck. "Oh, thank you, Elphie! It's alright if I call you Elphie, right?"

_Sure, why not?_ Elphaba smiled. Galinda took that as a yes. "Do you know what we should do first?"

_Well, no. I'm not quite sure how this 'friend' thing works._

"We should give each other make-overs!" Galinda face lit up. Elphaba's eyes widened. She didn't want a makeover. Before she could protest, Galinda was already taking Elphaba's braid down and brushing it. She went over to her big bag of cosmetics and pulled out a stick of lipstick. Elphaba covered her mouth with her hands to stop the lipstick from making any contact with her face, but Galinda was quicker than that. She began to apply the make-up on Elphaba's face.

"And now, the finishing touch," Galinda said as she carefully took the pink flower she was wearing out of her hair. She then proceeded to place it in Elphaba's hair.

"Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you! You're beautiful!" Galinda said as she handed Elphaba a mirror. Elphaba took the mirror and studied her reflection. She gasped by what she saw. She no longer saw an ugly green girl. She now saw a young, beautiful girl who happened to be green. She looked up at Galinda and smiled. She was beginning to like this friendship thing.

* * *

_BOOM!_

"ELPHIE!" Galinda cried from her bed. Another thunderstorm was raging through Oz. Glinda sat up, shaking in her bed. Elphaba slowly opened her eyes. She also sat up when she saw blurry Galinda sitting up in her bed, shaking. She reached over for her glasses and placed them on her nose. She got out of her bed and ran over to Galinda.

"I don't like thunderstorms!" Galinda cried. Elphaba embraced Galinda and started to stroke her hair. This reminded her of the thunderstorms back home in Munchkinland. Elphaba slowly began to rock Galinda back and forth in her bed. After a while, Galinda yawned and fell asleep again. Elphaba smiled down on the sleeping girl. Maybe having Galinda Upland as a friend wouldn't be so bad after all. But she wouldn't realize that until later on that day.

* * *

Elphaba was walking outside the halls of Shiz. She was clutching her books against her chest. Her long, raven hair flowed behind her and her eyes never left the ground. Her thoughts were interrupted when something hit her in the back of her head. She slowly lifted her hand and found little pieces of dirt and rocks stuck in her hair. She turned around to find ShenShen, Avanna and a few other students standing behind her. All of them wore evil grins. She eyed them carefully; making sure that she didn't show how scared she was. She didn't know why she was so scared. She had dealt with bullies before. Wait… scratch that… _Nessa_ had dealt with the bullies before.

_Just walk away_, she told herself. She began to speed walk away from the group, when someone grabbed her hair and pulled her back. Her glasses flew off of her face, blurring her vision. The bullies threw her to her knees, ignoring her screams of pain. They continued to throw dirt and small rocks at her face. She closed her eyes, trying to defend at least one part of her face. One of the boys held her hands behind her back so she couldn't move. _When will this torment end?_ she wondered. As embarrassed as she felt sometimes to have her younger sister always stand up for her, she wished Nessa were here with her. She screamed when she felt a cool liquid making contact with her head, turning the dirt into mud.

"What do you think you're doing?" a petite voice demanded. The boy released Elphaba's hands and she wiped the mud away from her face. She looked up and saw a blurry, crème-puff like figure running towards her.

"Galinda, you're just in time to put this artichoke in her place," ShenShen said, handing Galinda a medium-sized rock. Galinda looked at Elphaba. _Do it!_ Elphaba dared, shivering from the water. Galinda looked back down at the rock. She took a deep breath and dropped it. She ran to Elphaba, completely ignoring the shocked faces of her friends. She took the shivering girl into her arms and hugged her.

"You guys are so mean!" Galinda shouted.

"What happened to you? I thought you hated her for ignoring you?" Avanna asked, confused.

"She wasn't ignoring me! She can't hear!" Galinda yelled.

ShenShen, Avanna and the other students fell silent. "Come on, Elphie, let's get you dried off," Galinda said, helping Elphaba to her feet and leading her away from the group.

* * *

Once the girls got back to their dorm room, Galinda got to have a better look at Elphaba's injuries. Her glasses were still missing. Her cheeks were covered in small bruises. Her lower lip had a small cut. Galinda went into the bathroom and wet a cloth. She gently pressed the cloth against Elphaba's cheek, causing the green girl to wince in pain.

"I'm sorry, Elphie!" Galinda whispered as she applied more pressure Elphaba's wounds. Elphaba hissed. Galinda disappeared into the bathroom once again. This time, she came back with medicine. She gingerly opened the bottle and applied it to Elphaba's injuries. Elphaba gasped and bit her lip. The pain was unbearable. She violently pushed Galinda's hand away from her face.

"Elphie, I know it hurts, but this will make you feel better," Galinda said in a calming voice. She tried to reapply the medicine, but Elphaba swatted her hand away again. Galinda huffed in frustration. "Elphaba, if I have to magically bind your hands together so you don't slap me, Oz help me, I will!" she threatened.

Elphaba slowly began to calm down. She sat on her hands to stop herself from slapping Galinda. Galinda gave her a satisfactory smile and continued. Elphaba shut her eyes and tried to concentrate on breathing. Her whole body began to shake in pain. "That's it!" Galinda said in a voice that sounded like she was talking to a six year old. "Now, I'm done!" she exclaimed in triumph as she put the medicine away. Elphaba opened her eyes and looked at Galinda. "Will you be alright without your glasses until we can buy you some new ones?"

Elphaba nodded. In truth, her vision was like 5/200 without her glasses. She didn't want Galinda to worry more. Galinda smiled. "I think that we should both get some sleep."

Elphaba yawned and got into her bed. Galinda did the same. Elphaba was really glad that she had Galinda Upland as her friend.


	8. And Then There's Fiyero

Galinda couldn't sleep that night. She kept worrying about Elphaba. She looked over to see her roommate sleeping peacefully in her bed. She couldn't understand how Elphaba could be so strong through everything. If it was her, Galinda knew that she would break down. Elphaba got up everyday and faced it, even though she knew what was coming. Galinda looked at the clock. Sweet Oz! It was 7:00. They had overslept. Galinda jumped out of her bed and onto Elphaba's.

"Elphie! Wake up! Wake up! We overslept!" Galinda shouted. Elphaba woke up with a start and let out a soft, but high-pitched, scream. It was still dark, and Elphaba couldn't make out Galinda's features. Elphaba squinted, trying to clear her vision, but it was pointless. She needed to get new glasses, and fast.

"Come on!" Galinda shouted, pulling Elphaba up by the arms. Elphaba moaned as she rubbed her eyes. She didn't want to get up. She was sick of people bulling her and it finally got to her. She looked up at Galinda and shook her head. She couldn't do it anymore. Fear and panic was written all over her face.

"Elphie, are you scared?" Galinda asked, turning on the lights. She placed a gentle and reassuring hand on Elphaba's shoulder. Tears sparkled in Elphaba's eyes. Galinda wrapped Elphaba into a warm hug. "Everything is going to be alright, Elphie. Trust me!"

Elphaba looked up at Galinda. She was really trying to comfort her. A smile appeared on her face. If she couldn't trust Galinda, who could she trust?

* * *

Elphaba was walking quickly on the grounds of Shiz. Her hair was in a ponytail. Her glasses were still missing. She didn't know that the tree stump was in her way until she tripped over it, causing her books to fly into the air. She groaned as she tried to get up, but stiffened when she felt someone's hand around her waist, helping her up. She looked up and saw Fiyero standing behind her.

"Hi," Fiyero said, a small smile on his face as he helped Elphaba pick up her books.

Elphaba just stared at him, not knowing what to do.

"Are you okay?" Fiyero tried again.

Elphaba opened her mouth a little, but closed it again. Why was Fiyero Tigelaar standing so close to her?

"Do you need any help?" Fiyero asked. _Come on, Elphaba, work with me here! _Fiyero thought.

Elphaba slowly shook her head. She started to walk away when Fiyero grabbed her arm. She turned around to face Fiyero. She couldn't make out his facial features, but she was sure that he was smiling at her. She had to admit, though, he was very cute.

_No_, she thought. _What am I doing? He's Galinda's boyfriend. I can't do this!_ Elphaba violently jerked away from Fiyero and ran away.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero called after her.

* * *

Fiyero found Elphaba later that day, sitting in a tree. She was twirling her long hair around her finger and seemed oblivious to the Prince's presence. He gently tugged at Elphaba's foot, causing the green girl to fall out of the tree. As she fell, Fiyero's arms were stretched out, waiting to catch her. Elphaba landed in his arms with a soft grunt. She looked up. When she saw him, instead of giving him the smile Fiyero was hoping for, she grimaced at him and struggled to get up. Fiyero gently placed her feet back on the ground. She scowled at him.

"You're welcome!" Fiyero whispered.

Elphaba's frown didn't go away until she saw Galinda tiptoeing behind Fiyero. Galinda jumped onto Fiyero's back, startling him. "Galinda!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry, Fiyero! I couldn't help it," Galinda giggled, getting off of Fiyero's back.

Elphaba looked down at her boots. She felt very awkward around Fiyero. She began to walk away.

"Elphie!" Galinda called, grabbing her roommate's arm. Elphaba looked at Galinda before she pulled away, more gently than she did with Fiyero.

"Is she alright?" Fiyero asked.

"She's fine. She hasn't had the easiest of lives. She'll warm up to you, eventually," Galinda explained, giving Fiyero a quick kiss. "I'll talk to you later. Elphie and I have to go shopping!" Galinda bounced away to catch up with Elphaba. Fiyero sighed. What would he have to do to be able to talk to Elphaba without her running away?

* * *

"Try these on!" Galinda suggested, placing a pair of glasses in Elphaba's hand.

Elphaba took the glasses, placed them on her nose and looked in the mirror. They were pink! She ripped the glasses off her face, causing her vision to return to blurriness, and threw them back into Galinda's hands.

"Fine!" Galinda huffed, upset that she didn't win. She took another pair off of the glasses shelf and gave them to Elphaba. When Elphaba looked at her reflection in the mirror, she smiled. Her vision was crystal clear. The glasses were thin-framed, black, wired glasses. Elphaba let out a small giggle of delight, very out of character of her. She looked over at Galinda and smiled. She was actually proud of her appearance. She fished out her wallet, paid for the glasses, and left with Galinda. They were walking down the streets when they came upon a dress shop.

"Oh!" Galinda squealed, running into the shop and dragging Elphaba behind her. Galinda stopped in front of a rack of dresses. She held a dark blue dress against Elphaba, who stepped away. Galinda grabbed her hand again and pulled her towards the dresses again.

"Try this on!" Galinda said as she pushed Elphaba into a dressing room. Elphaba came out a few minutes later. The dark blue dress sparkled in the light and went just past Elphaba's knees. In other words; she looked beautiful.

"Oh Elphie," Galinda said, wiping a tear from her eye. She led Elphaba to the full-length mirror. Elphaba turned her head to the side, as if confused by the woman she saw in the mirror. She smiled when she realized that the beautiful woman was her. She allowed Galinda to talk her into buying the dress.

* * *

Elphaba was sitting alone under a tree, reading a book. She suddenly stiffened when she felt the presence of another person sitting down next to her. She slowly turned her head to find Fiyero sitting with her. She was about to get up and leave when Fiyero pulled her back.

"Elphaba," he begged her to stay. Elphaba looked deep into his blue eyes. "Please don't run off."

Elphaba stiffened. She struggled to get out of Fiyero's grasp, but Fiyero wouldn't let go. Elphaba made a moaning sound in the back of her throat. When Fiyero wouldn't let her go, she started to panic. What if Galinda saw them? She couldn't risk losing her only friend.

"Elphaba, please, I'm not going to hurt you!" Fiyero said, pulling her even closer to him.

Elphaba scowled and the moaning continued. She shut her eyes tightly, wanting for Fiyero to just go away.

"Elphaba, please give me a chance!" Fiyero said, slightly loosening his grip on the green girl.

Elphaba violently pushed away from Fiyero. What she felt between them was exhilarating. She didn't know how to describe it. She actually liked it. She tried pushed all of those thoughts out of her mind, but she couldn't. She slowly shook her head. She was falling in love with Fiyero Tigulaar.


	9. I'm Not That Girl, But Elphie is

Could she be falling in love with Fiyero? No, she couldn't! He was Galinda's boyfriend and Galinda was her best friend. She couldn't do that.

"Elphaba?" Fiyero asked, snapping Elphaba out of her trance. He placed his hand on her shoulder. As soon as she turned around to face him, she found his lips smacked against hers. She started shaking. Fiyero was kissing her. Kissing her! She quickly slapped him across the face, making him pull away from her.

"OW!" Fiyero exclaimed, rubbing his sore cheek. "What was that for?"

Elphaba growled. He knew exactly why she slapped him. She started to hyperventilate. Her fingers intertwined with each other. She realized what she had done. She took a few steps toward Fiyero and placed a shaking hand on his cheek. Her gaze floated to the ground. She gave Fiyero an apologetic look.

"It's fine," Fiyero grumbled, still rubbing his cheek. Elphaba took his hand and led him away. "Elphaba, where are we going?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba dragged him into her room. She sat Fiyero down on her bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She soon returned with the medicine Galinda had used before. She sat down on the bed next to Fiyero and began to work on his cheek. Fiyero winced a few times, even though Elphaba was being very gentle. When she was finished, she gently ran her emerald finger across Fiyero's cheek.

_Oz_, Fiyero thought. _She's gorgeous_. For a moment, Fiyero forgot that he was supposed to be dating Galinda. He slowly leaned forward to kiss Elphaba. Elphaba started to lean back, determined to keep as much space between her and Fiyero as possible. When she was lying flat on her back, she slowly rolled off of the bed. Fiyero followed her. Elphaba squeaked when Fiyero was on top of her. Her eyes grew wider and she stiffened. Fiyero heard the sound of keys in the door. Galinda was back. He immediately stood up and helped Elphaba to her feet. Elphaba didn't know what was going on until she turned around and saw Galinda entering the room, carrying five big shopping bags. She set them down on her bed with a huff, and was immediately engulfed in a hug from the emerald girl.

"What happened?" Galinda asked, confused, but hugging the green girl back.

"Nothing," Fiyero responded, probably a little too quickly.

"What happened to your cheek?" Galinda probed.

"Oh, that. I got… um… slapped," Fiyero answered, running his hand through his hair.

"Who slapped you?" Galinda was just so full of questions.

Fiyero stuttered for a while before answering. "No one. It's fine."

Galinda gently pried Elphaba off of her. She slowly walked over to Fiyero to examine his cheek. "It doesn't look so bad," Galinda said, standing on her toes to kiss Fiyero's cheek. "Does that make it feel better?"

"I… um… well… I have to go!" Fiyero stuttered as ran out of the room. Galinda looked over at Elphaba. Elphaba couldn't meet Galinda's gaze and instead, looked down at her hands.

* * *

Elphaba tried her best to avoid Fiyero, but it seemed like everywhere she turned, he was there. He was at the library, the café, her favorite tree, everywhere. It was starting to creep Elphaba out. Was Fiyero stalking her? This could not be happening. Fiyero was supposed to be in love with the petite blonde, not the deaf artichoke.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero called, grabbing Elphaba's hand. Elphaba whipped around and immediately stiffened. Why won't Fiyero just leave her alone?

"I'm sorry if I hurt you. It wasn't my intention," Fiyero said, looking down.

Elphaba bit her lip. She wanted to run away, but she knew that Fiyero would just chase after her.

"Can be please start over?" Fiyero asked, loosening his grip on Elphaba's hand.

Elphaba couldn't help but smile. She did want to have Fiyero as a friend. She nodded, but immediately regretted it. Fiyero kissed her. Again! But this time, instead of following her gut instinct and slapping him again, she melted into his kiss. By Oz, Fiyero could kiss! A high-pitched scream interrupted them. Fiyero pulled away from Elphaba and looked to his right. Galinda was standing there, eyes wide and mouth opened. Elphaba turned around and saw Galinda. She blinked a few times, hoping that it was an illusion, and that Galinda wasn't standing there. Tears were forming in her eyes. Elphaba took a step closer to Galinda, but Galinda took five steps back.

"What is Oz's name is going on here?!" Galinda shouted.

"Galinda, it's not what it looks like!" Fiyero said, unconsciously wrapping his arm about Elphaba's waist.

"It's exactly what it looks like!" Galinda cried. Elphaba struggled out of Fiyero's embrace and ran to her roommate. Galinda saw this and started to run away.

"Galinda…" Fiyero started.

"SHUT UP TIGELAAR! IT'S OVER! WE'RE OVER!" Galinda said, running away. Elphaba struggled to keep up with Galinda. She didn't want to lose her best friend.

* * *

Galinda ran into the dorm room and slammed the door behind her. What she didn't know was that Elphaba was right behind her and just had a door slammed right in her face. Elphaba slowly opened the door and found Galinda crying into her pillow. Elphaba ran over to her and sat down on the bed. She slowly lifted her hand and gently placed it on Galinda's back. Galinda slowly turned around to face Elphaba.

"Go away!" she said, her eyes narrowing.

Elphaba wanted to comfort Galinda, but she didn't know how. An idea suddenly dawned on her. She might not be able to fix this slip-up, but she knew someone who could.

* * *

Elphaba walked up to Fiyero in the café and tapped his shoulder. Before Fiyero had the chance to turn around, Elphaba grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the table.

"Elph- what are you doing?" Fiyero said, not liking the fact that he was just dragged away from a conversation with girls.

Elphaba whipped around to face him. Her eyes were flaring with anger and hate. Fiyero winced under her gaze.

"You want me to talk to Galinda, don't you?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba nodded.

"She won't listen to me!" Fiyero protested.

Elphaba sighed and rolled her eyes. She knew that!

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kiss you like that. I was just so happy. I don't know what came over me. The last thing that I wanted to do was hurt both you and Galinda."

Elphaba knew that he didn't mean any harm by the kiss. She knew that the kiss shouldn't have meant anything, but it did to her. For the first time in her life, she felt like a normal girl. She had a boy loving her for who she is. She stared at Fiyero and licked her lips. Fiyero could tell that she really wanted him to do this.

"Fine! I'll talk to her!" Fiyero gave in. A small smile appeared on Elphaba's lips as Fiyero ran off to find Galinda.

* * *

"Shut up! I don't want to talk to you!" Galinda shouted as she ran away from Fiyero.

"Galinda, please! Let me explain," Fiyero said, panting to keep up with her. _Man_, he thought, _Galinda can run!_

"There's nothing to explain, Fiyero!" Galinda cried. "You were kissing another girl. More specifically, you were kissing my roommate and best friend. If you were going to cheat on me, you could have at least picked a girl that I can't stand!"

Fiyero wrapped his arms about Galinda, but she pulled away. "Galinda, I didn't mean to kiss Elphaba."

"You. Didn't. Mean. To. Kiss. Her?" Galinda repeated, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, when you say it like that…" Fiyero started, but the look Galinda was giving him told him he didn't have a lot of time before she punched him. "Galinda, I was so happy. The kiss didn't mean anything to me."

"Fiyero, don't act as though I wasn't there. I saw that kiss. It was passionate. It meant something to you and Elphie. You deserve each other!" Galinda said, a watery smile appearing on her face. "Elphie deserves to be happy. And if you can make her happy, then I can get over it."

"Galinda, please, I…"

"Fiyero, you love her. She loves you. You're perfect together," Galinda said, the watery smile turning into a sincere one.

"You… you mean that?" Fiyero asked, realizing that Galinda wasn't going to hurt him.

"Yes, I do. But heed my warning, Tigelaar. If you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt Elphie, I will knock. You. Out!" Galinda said, pointing a threatening finger at his chest.

Fiyero nodded violently, placed a kiss on Galinda's cheek and ran off to find Elphaba.

"I'm not that girl," Galinda quietly sang as she slowly walked away in the opposite direction.


	10. Wait, Fiyero's My Boyfriend?

Fiyero ran all over the grounds of Shiz trying to find Elphaba. He checked everywhere, but he couldn't find her.

"Elphaba!" he called. No answer. He mentally slapped himself. Of course she wouldn't answer. He just had to keep searching.

"Did you find her?" a small voice interrupted his thoughts.

Fiyero turned around and found Galinda standing behind him.

"No, and I've checked everywhere!" Fiyero said, scanning the grounds.

"She could be anywhere!" Galinda said, not fully hearing Fiyero.

"Galinda, I know. Where else would she be?" Fiyero asked.

"Let's check our room!" Galinda exclaimed, grabbing Fiyero's arm and pulling him behind her.

* * *

When they got to the room, Galinda and Fiyero came to a halt.

"Well, go in!" Galinda encouraged.

"What? No! I can't go in there!" Fiyero protested.

"Why not?" Glinda asked.

"Because she slapped me last time! Who knows what she'll do to me this time?"

"Well, maybe we can… wait, Elphaba's the one who slapped you?" Galinda's eyes widened.

"…Yes…"

"What did you do to her?" Galinda asked, trying to contain her laughter.

"I… kissed her."

Galinda turned serious. "H-How many times?"

"Twice, if you include the time you walked in on us."

Glinda had a murderous look on her face. "Fiyero Tigelaar, I have half a mind to whoop your royal…"

Elphaba opened the door. A big smile appeared on her lips as she watched the small blonde jab a threatening, and perfectly manicured, fingernail at the Prince's chest. A small giggle escaped her lips. Galinda turned around to find Elphaba laughing.

"Elphie!" Galinda exclaimed, throwing her arms around Elphaba's neck. "I have a thrillifiying news!" Galinda motioned for Fiyero to step forward. Fiyero took a small baby step towards Elphaba. Elphaba locked her hands behind her back, shifting her feet. What was Galinda doing?

Galinda, trying to play matchmaker, grabbed Elphaba and Fiyero's hands and placed them on top of each other. Much to Fiyero's surprise, Elphaba didn't pull away. She looked over at Galinda, confused.

"You look perfect together!" Galinda said, trying her best not to cry.

Elphaba looked back at Fiyero, who was giving her his best _Hey, baby!_ smile. Elphaba still didn't smile at him.

Fiyero looked over Elphaba's shoulder at Galinda.

_Kiss her!_ Galinda mouthed.

_What?_ Fiyero mouthed back.

_Kiss her!_ Galinda repeated.

_It's like you want her to slap me, isn't it?_

Galinda smirked. _As interesting as that sounds, the answer is no. Just kiss her!_

Fiyero slowly leaned forward and locked Elphaba in a passionate kiss. Elphaba slowly began to melt into the kiss. When they pulled away, Elphaba's facial expression was a mixture of _Wow, that was amazing!_ and _Fiyero, I will kill you!_

Fiyero tried to smile. He took Elphaba's hand in own. Elphaba stared at his hand for a while before breaking into a run, again.

"Elphaba!" Fiyero yelled in a tired voice.

"Go after her!" Galinda said, entering her room and shutting the door behind her.

* * *

He grinned in triumph when he found her sitting alone in the café. Elphaba was looking down at her lap and twirling her hair around her finger. Fiyero slowly approached her and sat down next to her.

"Elphaba, you really have to stop running away like that!" Fiyero said in a playful tone.

_What else am I supposed to do?_ Elphaba thought.

"Elphie, I'm really sorry if I hurt you. Galinda broke up with me and she gave us her blessing to be together. I really want to be with you!" Fiyero said, hoping her sounded, or at least looked, convincing.

Elphaba's head snapped up to look at him. Did he just say what she thought he said? Galinda broke up with him, just so that they could be together? She looked taken back by Fiyero's confession. When she finally realized that Fiyero was telling the truth, she smiled. Fiyero could feel another kiss coming. He just wasn't expecting that Elphaba would be the one kissing him. Fiyero's eyes widened when he saw Elphaba jump towards him, her lips meeting his. Fiyero smiled as he kissed his girlfriend.

* * *

Fiyero and Elphaba were walking the grounds of Shiz one day, hand in hand. Fiyero sudddently stopped when he saw ShenShen coming up to them. He cautiously wrapped an arm around Elphaba's waist.

"Hey, Fiyero!" ShenShen said, eyeing Fiyero.

"Hello, Miss… uh… ShenShen," Fiyero said slowly.

"What are you doing with… her?" ShenShen asked, glaring at Elphaba.

Elphaba looked from Fiyero to ShenShen, wondering what Fiyero would do.

"I am currently dating Miss Thropp," Fiyero answered, his nose high in the air.

ShenShen doubled over laughing. "You're kidding, right? You can't be serious!"

"I am more than serious," Fiyero said, his nose still in the air.

"Wouldn't you rather have someone more… normal?" ShenShen asked.

"Normal?" Fiyero repeated.

"Yes, normal. Someone who can hear it when you tell her you love her. And someone who can say 'I love you' back," ShenShen explained, her eyes not leaving Elphaba.

Fiyero's eyes widened. Elphaba turned away, knowing what Fiyero would do.

"No thank you, Miss ShenShen. I am perfectly fine with Miss Thropp," Fiyero said, tightening his grip around Elphaba's waist. Elphaba looked up, shocked.

"Are you sure?" ShenShen asked, stepping closer to the couple.

"I am positive!" Fiyero said, trying to control his temper.

ShenShen scowled. "Fine! But if you get tired of the artichoke, you know where to find me." With a sickly-sweet smile, she walked away.

Fiyero looked over at Elphaba and saw tears streaming down her face. He lifted up his hand and wiped them away from her face.

"Fae, don't cry!" Fiyero said.

Elphaba looked up at Fiyero. "Please don't cry, Fae," Fiyero cooed.

_Fae?_ Elphaba thought. _He gave me a nickname already? He must be serious about this. Oh, sweet Oz, this means that I have to think of a nickname for him!_

"What? What is it? It's the nickname, isn't it? If you want me to stop, I can," Fiyero said, his words jumbled together.

Elphaba shook her head.

Fiyero kissed the top of Elphaba's head. "I love you, Fae!"

Elphaba opened her mouth. She shut her eyes tightly and tried to speak. She tried her best to force a sound, anything, out of her mouth. She wanted with all of her heart to say 'I love you' to Fiyero. When she realized that it was never going to happen, she looked up at Fiyero. Seeing the love that he had for her in his eyes made Elphaba sob. She would never be the ideal girlfriend for anyone, let alone a Prince.

_Yero…_ Elphaba cried.

"Shhh!" Fiyero said, stroking her hair. "It's okay. I know. I know. Don't cry."

_I'm so sorry, Yero! I'm so sorry!_ Elphaba cried.


	11. Busted!

Elphaba continued to sob. She hated herself. She hated the person she was. She hated the fact that she would never be the girl Fiyero wanted. Maybe she couldn't hear or speak, but by Oz, she wasn't stupid.

"Elphie," Fiyero said sadly. He hated to see Elphaba in this much pain. Elphaba turned away from Fiyero and wrapped her hands around her waist. Oz, she felt cold. She jumped when she felt something on her back. She turned her head and saw Fiyero wrapping his jacket around her shoulders. Elphaba looked deep into his brown eyes. A grateful smile lit up her face.

"Feel better?" Fiyero asked.

Elphaba giggled and nodded. Fiyero smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. What the couple didn't know was that a certain jealous girl was watching them.

* * *

"Can you believe it? He chose the green bean over me!" ShenShen complained to Avanna and Galinda at lunch one day.

"They do look perfect together," Avanna commented. ShenShen shot her a glare and continued.

"I mean, honestly, you would think that the Crowned Prince of the Vinkus would have better taste," ShenShen said, drinking her milk.

"ShenShen, stop it!" Galinda admonished.

"Galinda, you know as well as I do that you wanted Fiyero to yourself," ShenShen said, playfully throwing food at her friend.

Galinda and Avanna joined the mini food fight. They stopped when they ran out of ammunition, and air.

"I have an idea!" ShenShen suddenly exclaimed, an evil grin appearing on her face.

"ShenShen, what are you thinking?" Avanna asked, voicing the level of apprehensiveness Galinda was feeling.

"You'll see!" ShenShen said, walking away.

"I don't like where this is going!" Avanna whispered. Galinda nodded in agreement.

* * *

Elphaba and Fiyero were sitting outside under Elphaba's favorite tree. Elphaba was asleep, leaning against Fiyero's chest. Fiyero was trying to weave small flowers into her hear. Oz, she has beautiful hair!

When he saw ShenShen walking up to him, he tried his best to gently pry his sleeping girlfriend off of him.

"Mmmmmm," Elphaba quietly moaned, clinging to him even tighter.

"Hello, Fiyero," ShenShen said, batting her eyes.

"Um…" was all that Fiyero could say.

"I need your help putting up a new shelf in my room."

"Can't your roommate do it?" Fiyero asked, a little bit too harshly.

"No, Fiyero, she's a girl. And girl's aren't as strong as boys are," ShenShen said, her eyes hurting from blinking them so much.

Fiyero blinked. What was wrong with this girl's eyes? Oh Oz, he knew that he should have stayed in the Vinkus. But then, he wouldn't have met Elphaba, so he decided not to curse anything, yet.

"Miss ShenShen, as you can probably see, I have a sleeping girl sitting next to me. If she were to wake up and find you here, I'm pretty sure we know what she would do to both of us," Fiyero said, glancing over at Elphaba to make sure that she was still sleeping. Thank Oz she was.

"She won't know," ShenShen said, rubbing her eyes.

"What do you even want?"

"I told you. I want you to help me but in a new shelf in my room."

Fiyero looked at ShenShen's sad attempt at doing puppy-dog eyes. "Fine!"

Fiyero slowly began to get up. Elphaba tightened her grip around him.

"Nnnnnn," Elphaba moaned again.

"Fiyero?" a voice said.

"Galinda, thank Oz! I have to help Miss ShenShen do something. Could you please stay with Elphaba?" Fiyero asked.

"Do something?" Galinda questioned, remembering what ShenShen had said earlier.

"I'll be quick. I promise. Just please stay here with Fae," Fiyero said impatiently. He wanted to get whatever ShenShen wanted to do over with.

"Okay," Galinda said slowly, still not trusting ShenShen. She knelt down next to Elphaba. Elphaba woke up and looked shocked and confused to see Galinda sitting with her instead of Fiyero.

"He'll be right back," Galinda said in a soft voice. Elphaba nodded and leaned her head on Galinda's shoulder. She could get used to having friends that cared about her.

* * *

"ShenShen, this would go a lot faster if you helped me!" Fiyero said, struggling with the shelf.

ShenShen sighed as she threw her Ozmopolitan magazine on her bed. "Honestly," she huffed. She walked over to Fiyero, grabbed the shelf from him and put it up herself.

"But... you… I-I-I," Fiyero stammered.

"Fiyero, you know that I'm stronger than you. I could have easily put in a simple shelf without your help," ShenShen answered, rolling her eyes.

"Then why did you drag me here?" Fiyero asked, more scared than angry.

"I want you!" ShenShen said, pulling Fiyero closer to her.

"OH, OZ NO!" Fiyero thought aloud. He tried to run away, but ShenShen had a strong grip. She smacked her lips against Fiyero's. Fiyero began to vibrate. He couldn't risk anyone seeing this. He was too busy worrying to hear the door open. Avanna walked in, with Galinda closely behind her, followed by a still-tired Elphaba. Their mouths dropped open when the saw ShenShen on top of Fiyero, kissing the breath out of him.

"Ahem!" Avanna said, causing ShenShen to look up. Fiyero sat up, his breathing rigid, looking around the room like a lost puppy.

"You two looked like you were having fun," Galinda said, trying her best not to look at Elphaba.

"She… shelf… kissed… me!" Fiyero said in between breaths, pointing to ShenShen. One hand clutched his chest, while his other hand returned to supporting him in the bed.

"What?" Galinda asked.

"I'll translate later," Avanna reassured her.

Gulping, both girls turned their attention to Elphaba. Her arms were wrapped around her waist, shaking in anger and hurt. Her gaze was on the floor. Her long raven hair fell down her shoulder and over her face, hiding her hurt expression. What in Oz was Fiyero doing? Did he not love her? And to think, they were at the nickname stage in their relationship.

For the first time since he met her, Fiyero was actually glad that Elphaba couldn't speak. Who knows what she would have said to him if she could?

"Elphaba," Fiyero said, catching his breath. He slowly walked over to his girlfriend (or at least, he hoped she was still his girlfriend). Elphaba, sensing his movements, jerked away. She wanted with all of her heart to believe that Fiyero still loved her, but her eyes knew better than to play tricks on her like that. She knew what she saw, and she saw Fiyero kissing another girl. The growling noises she was making sounded murderous. She ran back to her room, not even bothering to look back.

* * *

Elphaba slammed the door behind her. She was so confused. First, Fiyero kissed her and told her he loved her. Then, she lets him into her walled world. After that, she found him kissing another girl. She couldn't take it anymore. She ran to her desk and took out a pen and piece of paper. She struggled to keep her hand steady as she wrote a note.

_My dearest Nessa…_

* * *

**MWAHAHAHAHAHA! CLIFF! *Ducks under desk to avoid the virtual tomatoes she knows the readers are throwing at her***


	12. What the Note Said and Powers

"Papa, I just received this note from Elphaba!" Nessa said, running into her father's study. Frex looked up. He would have been mad at Nessa for not knocking, but when he saw the look on her face, he knew that something was wrong.

"What is it, Nessa?" Frex asked.

Nessa handed him the letter from Elphaba.

_My dearest Nessa and Papa,_

_I am writing to you in regards to my stay at Shiz University. I wish to return home as soon as possible. Things have been happening that I do not wish to discuss at the moment, but I need a break. Please send a carriage here as soon as possible._

_All my love,_

_Fabala_

"What do we do?" Nessa asked as her father handed her the letter.

"I will send a carriage immediately," Frex whispered, standing up. He placed a gentle kiss on Nessa's head and walked out the room.

* * *

"Fiyero, you have a lot of explaining to do!" Galinda said. She was once again pointing a threatening finger at Fiyero's chest. Oz, she had to come up with more intimidation tactics.

"Galinda, please! I wasn't kissing ShenShen! She was kissing me!" Fiyero said, backing away from the petite blonde.

Galinda suddenly put her hand down. "I believe you," she whispered.

"What?" Fiyero whispered.

"I believe you. I know that you truly love Elphaba, and that you would never do anything to hurt her. I just… Elphie!" Galinda said, realizing that Elphaba wasn't there.

"She ran away again?" Fiyero asked, his voice faltering.

"Oz, she really needs to stop doing that!" Galinda said, shaking her head and running out of the room, closely followed by Fiyero.

Elphaba was curled in a ball on her bed. She couldn't take it anymore. Galinda slowly opened the door and walked up to Elphaba.

"Oh, Elphie," Galinda whispered. Her voice was soft and full of pity for her best friend. She placed a caring hand on Elphaba's shoulder, startling the green girl. Elphaba's face softened when she saw Galinda. Galinda pulled Elphaba close to her.

"I'm so sorry, Elphie," Galinda whispered.

Elphaba sobbed her heart out on Galinda's shoulder. She had to get away from there. She wouldn't allow her heart to experience any more aching.

"Is it safe?" Fiyero asked from the doorway.

Galinda nodded. Fiyero entered the room, a single red rose in his right hand. He knelt down in front of Elphaba, holding the rose out to her. Elphaba sniffed as she eyed the rose. This was his idea of apologizing? She wanted to get away. No, she didn't _want_ to get away. She _needed_ to get away. She needed a break. She needed space.

Elphaba gracefully stood up and walked to her closet. She began to take all of her clothes out and pack them in her suitcase.

"Elphaba, what are you doing?" Galinda asked, stepping closer to her roommate. Elphaba pushed her away as she continued to pack.

"Fae, please," Fiyero begged, taking Elphaba's hand. Elphaba jerked her hand away. She didn't want to speak to Fiyero.

"Miss Elphaba," Madame Morrible said, appearing in the doorway. "Your carriage is here to take your home."

"Carriage? Home? Elphie, you're leaving?" Galinda said, near tears. Her Elphie was leaving her.

Elphaba turned around to look at Morrible and nodded. She grabbed her suitcase and left the room.

"ELPHIE!" Galinda called after her.

"Master Fiyero, what are you doing here?" Morrible asked. "This is the Girl's Dormitories. Males are not allowed. You know that!"

"Yes, Madame. I know. But…" Fiyero started.

"No buts! Now, out with you!" Morrible said, shooing Fiyero out of the room.

"Madame Morrible!" Galinda called her back into the room. "What happened? Why is Elphaba going home?"

"I don't know, dear," Morrible answered.

"Will she come back?" Galinda asked, her tears finally breaking free from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Miss Galinda. I really don't know," Madame Morrible said, closing the door behind her.

Galinda ran to her bed and sobbed. Why was Elphaba leaving her? Did she do something wrong?

_Fiyero._

Of course! Elphaba thought that Fiyero was cheating on her. That made perfect sense. With all that has happened to her, she had a right to believe that. But it wasn't true! How would Galinda tell her that?

* * *

Elphaba arrived home quickly. She was relieved to find that her father and Nessa weren't home. She quickly ran into the house, leaving the poor servants to retrieve her things. She breathed in the familiar smells of the Governor's mansion. The smell of the old wood, of the burning fire and of the freshly polished floors filled her nose. She gracefully walked up the stairs to her room. She opened the door and looked in. Her room was exactly how she left it. Though, the bed wasn't made. She suspected that Nessa probably slept in it. She slowly walked over to the bed and felt the sheets. They felt very soft. She climbed into her bed and reached for her teddy bear. This teddy bear held a lot of memories for her; her mother dangling it in front of her face in a game, how she brought it with her wherever she went; and her only comfort after the accident.

Tears rolled down Elphaba's cheeks. She didn't mean to leave Galinda like that. She just had to get out of there. She couldn't do it anymore. She tried to be strong and now show weakness, and because of that, it just flowed out of her at once. She felt guilty. She knew that she would never be a normal girl. She started to sob. Then, the strangest thing happened. The lights flicked on and off. Elphaba jumped off the bed and landed on the floor. The windows opened and closed on their own. Elphaba looked scared. Was she causing this? Lightning struck in the room. Elphaba curled into a ball and clutched her bear closer to her chest. What was happening? And why was it happening?

Elphaba eventually calmed down. When she did, the lights came back on and the windows stopped opening and closing. Elphaba pushed her glasses back up her nose. She wanted her father and Nessa to come home quickly.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Governor Thropp. Miss Nessarose," the guard said as Frex and Nessa returned home. "Miss Elphaba returned home a few hours ago."

"How is she?" Nessa asked.

"Well, the maids said that she locked herself in her room and refuses to come out," the guard reported.

"Poor Elphaba," Nessa whispered.

"There's more. The maids reported that the lights were flickering on and off in her room. The sounds of the windows opening and closing were flooding the entire household. Miss Elphaba could be heard screaming her lungs out," the guard said in a monotone.

"What?" Frex asked.

The guard simply nodded. Frex and Nessa hurried into the house. When the reached Elphaba's room, Nessa discovered that the door was still locked.

"Elphaba!" Nessa called, knocking on the door. She stepped aside to let her father try to get Elphaba to open the door.

"Fabala, please let us in!" Frex begged. The sound of something hitting the door, probably a pillow, told Frex and Nessa that Elphaba still wasn't ready to talk.

"It's okay, Papa. She'll come out when she's hungry," Nessa joked.

Frex smiled. "You're right, Nessie!" Frex said, hugging Nessa and going back to his study.

"Two can play at this game, Elphaba," Nessa said in a challenging voice as she sat against the wall opposite the door, waiting for her sister to come out.


	13. Elphaba Has What Now?

**I'm back! And so is this story!**

**ExoticPeachBlossom: To answer your question, Elphaba can't speak. She can make noises, but she can't formulate words. I hope that answers your question. It's sort of like Dr. Dillamond in the second act (sort of…)**

**AND I WASN'T GOING TO HAVE ELPHABA KILL HERSELF! HONESTLY! I KNOW THAT'S WHAT YOU ALL WERE THINKING! DON'T DENY IT!**

* * *

Elphaba was crying for what seemed like forever. She looked out the window. The sun was going down. She was sure that her father would be calling her down for dinner at any moment. She slowly stood up, wiped her eyes and walked to the door. When she opened it, she jumped back at the sight of her sister. Nessa was standing outside the door. Her arms were crossed against her stomach. She slowly uncrossed her arms and rubbed her sore bottom. She was sitting for so long!

"Fabala?" Nessa asked, stepping into her sister's room. Elphaba retreated back to her bed and sat down. She closed her eyes, trying to relax. Nessa sat down on the bed next to her trembling sister. Nessa pulled her sister into a caring hug. Elphaba tried her best not to cry. She didn't know why she was crying so much. She was sure that if she didn't stop, she was going to cry out all of the water in her body.

Elphaba tried her best to calm herself down. She didn't want to release whatever she had inside of her. Especially on her younger sister.

Nessa stroked her older sister's hair. She couldn't help but feel pity for her sister. Elphaba has always been the strong one, despite everything that had happened to her. If she broke down, it must have been over something big.

Elphaba suddenly realized what she was doing. She was showing weakness to her sister. If she did, she knew that Nessa would never leave her alone. Her father would continue to over-protect her like he did when she was younger. How she was barely allowed outside except for school, how her sister had to take care of her and watch out for her, and how she never had a true friend. All of those memories came crashing down on her at once. She took a deep breath and slowly rose from the bed. She took a few steps and crumbled to the ground, another wave of sobs taking over. Nessa ran and knelt in front of her sister.

"Elphaba," Nessa said, just above a whisper. She slowly reached out to touch Elphaba's shaking shoulder. Elphaba pulled away from her sister's touch as she continued to shake. Images of Fiyero danced in her mind. She tried to shake these images out of her head, but failed. She closed her eyes. When she saw Fiyero kissing ShenShen, that was it. She released her magic again. The lights flicked, the windows opened and closed, the closet doors slammed shut, and Nessa looked terrified.

"Elphaba, what are you doing?" Nessa shouted. "Elphaba? ELPHABA!"

Elphaba had stopped crying, but tears were still in her eyes. She looked up at her sister. Everything slowly began to return to normal. Elphaba bit her lip as she looked at the frightened look on Nessa's face. She didn't mean to scare her. She didn't know what came over her.

"Elphaba?" Nessa asked, trying to recover from her shock. "What just happened? Did you just… Oh my Oz! Papa!" Nessa called.

Elphaba's eyes widened. No, Nessa could not tell their father what happened. He would have her watched like an infant. She tried to stop her sister from shouting, but it was no use. Nessa held Elphaba back while she continued to call their father. Elphaba had enough. She picked Nessa up and threw her over her shoulder.

"Elphaba! Put me down this instant!" Nessa shouted.

Elphaba placed her sister down on the bed and placed a finger over her mouth, motioning for Nessa to be quiet. She didn't want the whole house knowing about her… powers. Heck, she had just discovered them herself.

Frex came running in, hearing Nessa's calls. "What's going on in here?" Frex asked.

"Elphaba made the windows open!" Nessa said, pointing at the closed windows.

"And?" Frex asked, not catching on.

"And she made the lights flicker on and off!" Nessa continued.

"Still not following," Frex said. Oz, he was so slow!

"Papa, Elphaba has magical powers!" Nessa said, giving up on dropping hints on their father.

"Elphaba has what now?" Frex asked.

"Magical. Powers," Nessa repeated.

Frex looked down at his daughter. Elphaba looked about ready to pummel Nessa. The rage slowly began to build up inside of her. The same thing happened again with the windows and the lights. Elphaba realized what she was doing and calmed down.

"Fabala," Frex started, taking his eldest daughter's hands and holding them in his own.

Elphaba's face hardened. She didn't want to be babied by her father. She wasn't a helpless baby!

"What are we going to do?" Nessa muttered to herself. Elphaba broke away from her father, falling on her side on the floor. Frex could see that Elphaba was slipping away from him. Away from this world.

"We need someone to watch her, to make sure she doesn't hurt herself," Frex whispered as he left the room, leaving the two sisters alone in Elphaba's room.

_NO!_ Elphaba wanted to shout. She didn't need someone watching over her like a baby. She was a grown woman, for Oz sakes. She lowered her head when she realized that it was pointless. They wanted to treat her like a baby, fine! Let them treat her like a baby!

* * *

"I miss Elphie!" Galinda sobbed. Avanna rubbed Galinda back, trying to calm her down to a point where she could actually understand what Galinda was saying.

The room looked so empty without Elphaba. Her bed was neat and wasn't slept in for days. Galinda missed coming back to the room at night and finding Elphaba reading a book, brushing her hair, or sleeping. She missed crying on Elphaba's shoulder when something didn't go her way.

"Why would she leave like that?" Galinda cried.

"ShenShen?" Avanna offered. Galinda looked up and remembered what ShenShen did to her Elphie and to Fiyero. If Galinda could just get her hands on ShenShen! She would make her pay for all the horrible things she's done to Elphaba.

"You're right," Galinda admitted. She knew that it was ShenShen's fault, but she couldn't help but feel guilty. She did play that prank on Elphaba the night of the Ozdust. She brushed that memory aside, because without that night, they never would have become best friends. "But, it's my fault, too."

"What?" Avanna asked. "How is it your fault?"

"I was mean to her. I should have been nicer. If I was, maybe none of this would have happened!" Galinda said, returning to sobbing.

"Galinda, you may never know what might have happened, but what will happen is something entirely different. Elphaba isn't mad at you. You're her best friend. You gave up your boyfriend just so she could be happy," Avanna said, giving Galinda a small smile.

"Wow, that was really… smart," Galinda realized.

"I have my moments!" Avanna said, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Galinda laughed as she got of the bed and ran to the door.

"Where are you going?" Avanna asked.

"I'm going to find Elphie!" came Galinda's response.


	14. Neither Needed Nor Wanted

**Hello all! Yes, two updates in one day! Well, I couldn't keep you guys waiting, now could I? HEHEHE! Yes, Frex is treating Elphaba like a baby! Fun for Elphaba, I know!**

* * *

"How long have you been a governess, Miss uh… Nettle?" Frex asked the tenth woman who came for the governess for Elphaba interview.

"About two years," Miss Nettle answered. She was wearing a long black dress and black gloves. Her hair was tied up in a bun and she wore a large, black bonnet. "Now, what can you tell me about Miss Elphaba?"

"Well, she's smart, independent…" Frex started.

"Older than me!" Nessa muttered.

"What was that, dear?" Miss Nettle asked.

"Elphaba is older than I am. I'm 15 and she's 18," Nessa explained. She watched as the woman shifted uncomfortably in her seat. _She must be… what, maybe 23?_ Nessa thought.

"I see…" she finally said. She turned back to Frex. "And why does Miss Elphaba need a governess?"

"You'll see once you meet her," Frex said, standing up. "Do you accept the job?"

"Um… yes, thank you!" Miss Nettle said as she stood up, shook Frex's hand, and followed him up the stairs.

Nessa stayed behind. She regretted telling their father about Elphaba's powers. She had helped Elphaba finally convince Frex to let her attend Shiz. It was Elphaba's dream. A single tear slipped out of Nessa's eye. She had to make this right with her sister. She just didn't know how.

Frex led the new governess up to Elphaba's room. "I'll leave you two to get a acquainted."

"Governor Thropp?" Miss Nettle called. Frex turned around. "I have a feeling that there is something you're not telling me about Miss Elphaba. Something that I should know before I go in there and meet her."

"There are a few things, actually," Frex said, shifting his weight. "She deaf."

"Deaf?" Miss Nettle questioned.

"And mute," Frex continued.

"Mute?" Miss Nettle repeated.

"And green," Frex said quickly.

"What!?" Miss Nettle said in shock.

"Good luck!" Frex said as he ran back down the hall.

_Did I just hear correctly?_ Miss Nettle wondered to herself. She shook her thoughts from her head. There was no way in Oz that a person could be green. Or so she thought.

Miss Nettle gulped and slowly opened the door. There, sitting on the bed, clutching a pillow, was Miss Elphaba. She really was green! The governess shyly walked up to her new charge. Never in her life was she asked to watch over an adult before.

Elphaba looked up and saw the stranger standing before her in her room. She knew exactly who she was and why she was here. She couldn't believe that her father did this to her. How humiliating!

"Hello, Miss Elphaba," Miss Nettle said. "I'm Poppie." She figured at since Miss Elphaba was only a few years younger than she was, it might make things a little bit better if they started out as being friends.

Elphaba, on the other hand, had no desire to have Poppie as a friend. When Poppie took a step closer to her, Elphaba growled. Poppie jumped back in surprise. Did Elphaba just… growl?

"Elphaba," Poppie started, trying not to let the murderous look on Elphaba's face scare her. "I'm here to help you."

Elphaba was taken back. Did… did this woman just say that she was there to _help_ her? She didn't need any help.

Poppie relaxed, thinking that Elphaba was coming around to liking her. Boy, was she wrong!

Elphaba threw her pillow at Poppie's face. Poppie stared at it for a while before gracefully picking it up and giving it back to Elphaba. "It is impolite to throw things at people," she said calmly.

Elphaba was shocked. She wasn't expecting Poppie to be so calm after having a pillow thrown at her face. All she could do was stare at Poppie.

"And it is rude to stare!" Poppie said, taking off her bonnet.

Elphaba was starting to get annoyed. She wanted Poppie to leave her room and her life. She was neither needed nor wanted. Elphaba quickly summoned a fireball. That seemed to get Poppie's attention.

"E-Elphaba? What are you doing?" Poppie asked, eyeing the fireball. She didn't have time to say anything more before Elphaba threw the fireball at her. Poppie screamed, thinking that this was the end, until something, or someone, knocked her off her feet to the ground. Poppie opened her eyes and saw Nessarose on top of her, protecting her against the fire.

"I'm so terribly sorry, Miss Nettle!" Nessa apologized on behalf of her sister, helping Poppie to her feet. Once Poppie regained her balance, she looked back at Elphaba, who was crying on the floor. "No, it's quite alright. And please, call me Poppie. I'm only 23."

Nessa smiled. She was right about her age. "Very well… Poppie!" Nessa giggled. Her expression quickly turned serious. "Elphaba… um," Nessa cleared her throat before continuing. "She does that sometimes."

"What? Throw fireballs at people?" Poppie asked.

"You're lucky. Last time, it was lightning. And she missed my head by a mere inch!" Nessa retorted.

Poppie's mouth dropped open. Had Elphaba tried to strike her sister with lightning?

"She… she tried to strike you with lightning?" Poppie asked, shocked.

"No," Nessa shook her head. "Elphaba has these… magical outbursts sometimes. That's one of the reasons you're here. To help her control them. She gets very angry, very easily."

"What happened to her?" Poppie asked.

"If you're talking about why she's deaf and mute, all I know is that she was in some sort of accident, probably a carriage accident, when she was very young. Before I was born. If you're talking about why she behaves like that, I don't know. I received a letter from her one day saying that she wishes to come home. Papa pulled her out of Shiz and she refuses to tell anyone about it."

"Oh," was all that Poppie could bring herself to say.

"Well, I'm going back to my room to do some reading. If you need anything, shout! Your room is down the hall to the right," Nessa smiled as she walked back to her room.

Poppie sighed and turned back to Elphaba. She was curled up in a ball, sleeping. Poppie slowly stepped closer to her and knelt down beside her. She placed a gentle hand on Elphaba's back. Elphaba quivered, but eventually drifted back into her blissful dream.

"I will help you, Miss Elphaba. I will help you in any way I can, whether you want me to or not!" Poppie whispered as she lifted Elphaba off of the floor and into the bed.

* * *

Elphaba woke up exhausted the next morning. She stretched and got out of bed, trying to recall what had happened the night before. The last thing she remembered was meeting her new…

_Oh no!_

Elphaba ran down the hall to the guest room. Slowly, she opened the door and peeked inside. There, sitting at the desk, brushing her medium-length honey blonde hair, was Poppie. Elphaba softly knocked on door, startling her.

"Oh, you're awake," Poppie said in a bitter voice, still upset about Elphaba's attempt to burn her to a crisp.

Elphaba looked down at her hands, ashamed about the fireball incident. "Well, we might as well make the best of this," Poppie said, tying her hair back into a bun. "Come, it's time for breakfast," Poppie said as she brushed past Elphaba and out the room. When she didn't hear Elphaba's footsteps behind her, Poppie turned around to see Elphaba staring at her, defiance in her eyes. Poppie knew that Elphaba wasn't going to go anywhere with her willingly. She had to go to option two, force.

She grabbed Elphaba's wrist and tried to pull her, but Elphaba's feet didn't budge. Poppie had another idea. She picked Elphaba up by the waist and threw her over her shoulder. She tried to ignore the green girl screaming in her ear and kicking her as she walked down the stairs. When they finally reached the kitchen, she saw that Frex and Nessarose had already eaten their breakfast. Good! They wouldn't be walking in on her attempting to get Elphaba to eat.

"Sit!" she commanded Elphaba as she sat her down in a chair. Elphaba had finally stopped screaming, much to Poppie's pleasure.

"Stay!" she said sharply.

Elphaba glared at her. What was she, a dog, now?

"Its rude to glare at people like that!" Poppie said, fixing Elphaba a plate of eggs and toast. She set the plate down in front of Elphaba, waiting for her to take her fork and start eating. Instead, Elphaba looked at her food as if it were a poisonous snake.

"Eat!" Poppie said, turning her back to get herself some breakfast. She cringed at the sound of something expensive breaking. She slowly turned around to find the plate, or the shattered remains of the plate, on the floor. Bits of food were scattered in the mist of the shards and Elphaba was nowhere to be found.

Poppie sighed as she picked up the remains of the plate, trying not to cut herself, and threw them in the garbage. She was about to clean up the food, but then decided that it might be a better idea for Elphaba to do it. She raced out of the kitchen to find Elphaba.

* * *

Poppie was running around the house like a chicken without a head trying to find Elphaba.

"Miss Nettle?" Frex called. Poppie turned around to see the Governor giving her a weird look. "Is something the matter?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, Miss Elphaba has run away from me. Do you, by any chance, know where she is?" Poppie asked in a sweet voice.

"She's outside," Frex answered, wondering what had happened. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Miss Elphaba is just cross with me. Nothing major. Thank you for telling me where she is," Poppie said, turning on her heals and running towards the door, leaving Frex confused and worried.

* * *

Elphaba was outside, her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn't want Poppie there. It made her feel like a child. When she sensed someone approaching her, she turned around to find Poppie running up to her. Elphaba knew that running away was pointless, but she still tried to do it. Poppie, one step ahead of her, caught up to her before Elphaba could break out into a run. Poppie grabbed Elphaba's wrist and tightened her grip so Elphaba couldn't escape. Elphaba screamed as Poppie pulled her back to the house.

"Screaming like that is pointless, Miss Elphaba," Poppie spat, opening the door and pulling Elphaba inside. She led Elphaba back into the kitchen and threw her to her knees. She shoved a dishrag into her hands.

"Now, clean up the mess you made!" Poppie commanded.

"MISS NETTLE!" Frex roared from the doorway. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

"Miss Elphaba had a little accident and is cleaning up the mess she made," Poppie replied curtly.

"But, there's glass! She could cut herself!" Frex protested, running to his daughter and hugging her.

"I took the liberty of clearing the glass before I went outside to find her," Poppie replied.

"How can you be so heartless?" Frex asked, hugging his crying daughter.

"Heartless?" Poppie repeated, confused.

"Can't you see she's suffering!?" Frex bellowed.

"Governor Thropp, I am simply doing my job. Now, if you please…" Poppie said, gesturing towards the door, wanting Frex to leave. Frex got up, gently pried Elphaba off of his arm, and walked out of the room.

"We will continue this conversation later," Frex whispered to her as he walked out the room.

Poppie turned her attention back to Elphaba, who was still crying and not cleaning. Elphaba looked up at Poppie, tears in her eyes. Poppie gave her the coldest expression possible and Elphaba realized that she didn't win this battle. She turned her attention back to the bits of food on the floor and began to clean them up. A satisfied, yet cold, smile appeared on Poppie's face.


	15. Two's a Company, Three's a Crowd

**Hello again! Third update of the day! I'm on a roll! Just need to say something really quickly! The name, Miss Nettle came from a Sofia the First episode, Make Way for Miss Nettle. I didn't make up the name. Sorry for not saying that last chapter! Just needed to throw that out there. Now, enough ranting! Here is the new chapter!**

* * *

Elphaba began to avoid Poppie as much as possible. She would stay in her room until Poppie came and forcibly ejected her. Elphaba became very jittery, jumping whenever someone touched her. Nessa hated to see her sister like this. That why she was relieved when Boq came over.

"Hi, Nessa!" Boq said as he entered the Governor's mansion, wiping his feet on the 'Welcome' mat.

"Hello, Boq! I'm so relieved that you came!" Nessa said, closing the door behind him.

"What happened? I heard that Elphaba came home," Boq said, looking around the room for his childhood friend.

Nessa nodded sadly. "Yes, she did, but…"

"But what?" Boq asked, worried.

"See for yourself!" Nessa said, leading him up to Elphaba's room.

Poppie came out of the room with an awful bruise on her cheek. She quietly closed the door behind her. She looked up and saw the two teenagers staring at her with their mouths open.

"It's impolite to stare," she said curtly as she began to walk away.

"Poppie, what happened to your face?" Nessa asked, calling her back.

"I just got Miss Elphaba to take a nap," Poppie replied, her hand unconsciously flying to her bruised cheek.

"A nap?" Boq asked.

"And she slapped you?" Nessa asked, horrified and completely ignoring Boq.

Poppie nodded. "It only took all of two hours. Please, Miss Elphaba is not to have any visitors for the remainder of the day."

"But, Boq and I just wanted to –"

"No visitors, Miss Nessarose!" Poppie shouted. She locked the door to Elphaba's room and went to her own room to lie down.

"A nap?" Boq repeated, still confused.

"It's a long story," Nessa whispered.

"What happened to her, Nessa? What happened to our fun and hyper Fabala," Boq asked, determined not to cry in front of a girl.

"I don't know, Boq. I really don't know. I miss her, too!" Nessa cried on Boq's shoulder.

She was crying until she heard soft banging sounds coming from Elphaba's room, followed by the knob turning. The banging sounds grew louder and louder, a pretty soon, Elphaba began screaming and crying.

"Fabala," Nessa whispered.

"Did she lock Elphaba in her room?" Boq asked, horrified.

Nessa nodded. "We need to get that key!" Nessa pulled Boq away from the door and into Poppie's room. Nessa slowly opened the door, relieved to find Poppie asleep. She and Boq quietly tiptoed through the room, looking for the key.

"There!" Boq whispered, pointing to the desk next to Poppie's bed. Nessa smiled as she quickly grabbed the keys.

Poppie began to stir. "Get down!" Nessa shouted in a loud whisper, dropping to her stomach. Boq also laid flat on his stomach until Nessa gave him the 'all clear' signal. They quickly ran back to Elphaba's room and unlocked the door. They found Elphaba on all fours, her hands pressed firmly against the ground. Her breathing was rigid and she looked like she hadn't eaten in days.

Nessa knelt down slowly in front of her sister. Elphaba's head snapped back up as she looked into her sister's eyes. Nessa quickly collected her sister into a hug. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! If I hadn't opened my big mouth –"

Elphaba planted a firm kiss on her sister's forehead. Nessa looked up at Elphaba, expecting to see anger and resentment in her sister's eyes. Instead, she saw a warm, friendly Elphaba. The Elphaba she was begging to return.

Boq decided to join in, before something happened that would trigger something in Elphaba. Elphaba looked surprised and happy to see her old childhood friend. She quickly scrambled to give Boq a hug.

"It's good to see you, too, Elphaba!" Boq said, trying to breathe. Nessa giggled at seeing her sister happy again. She suddenly stopped and her smile slowly melted away. For, behind Boq, stood an angry, and tired looking, Poppie.

"What. Are. You. Doing. In. Here?" she hissed.

Hearing the voice, Boq turned around and almost fainted. Poppie looked like a wretch. Her hair was a mess all over her head. She had really deep bags under her eyes and her bruised cheek appeared darker.

"I. Said. No. Visitors!" Poppie said through clenched teeth.

"Now, when you said 'no visitors', did you mean me, or Boq, or me and Boq, or –" Nessa started.

"I MEANT NO VISITORS! YOU KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I MEANT!" Poppie roared. Nessa and Boq began to shake. Elphaba, feeling Boq shaking, looked up and saw Poppie standing over her. She yelped and scooted away. She hit her back against the wall on the opposite side of her room when she couldn't go any farther.

Poppie took a deep breath and sighed. "Will you and your friend please leave the room?" she asked. Her voice was so calm, it was scary.

"W-What? Leave the room?" Nessa asked.

Poppie nodded. Nessa looked at Boq. Both teenagers hung their heads in shame as they left the room, not even bothering to look back at Elphaba.

_NO!_ Elphaba thought. _Nessa, Boq, please don't leave me! Don't leave me with her! Please come back! Please!_

She turned her attention back to Poppie. She quivered when Poppie took a step into her room. She screamed when Poppie grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. Elphaba looked down, refusing to meet Poppie's gaze. Poppie pulled Elphaba to her bed and sat her down. Poppie was enraged at Elphaba, but she didn't know why. Elphaba didn't do anything wrong this time. Was she still mad about her cheek or the fireball?

"Go to sleep!" Poppie yelled, releasing Elphaba's arm and leaving the room, slamming the door behind her. Elphaba curled up into a little ball. She thought of the lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. Elphaba soon found herself drifting into a blissful sleep.

* * *

"I don't like her!" Boq said, pacing across Nessa's rug in her room.

"Neither do I. She doesn't understand Elphaba! She doesn't know how much she's suffered, how much she's gone through, everything," Nessa muttered, more to herself than to Boq.

The doorbell rang downstairs. Nessa and Boq ran down to answer it.

"Galinda!" Nessa exclaimed, seeing her sister's best friend and roommate standing outside.

"Hi, Nessa!" Galinda greeted, coming inside.

"I'm so glad you're here! Oh, this is Boq, a childhood friend," Nessa said, gesturing to the short Munchkin standing next to Nessa.

"Charmed," Boq said, taking Galinda's hand and gently kissing it.

"Pleasure," Galinda replied quickly. She wasn't trying to be rude to Boq. Her thoughts were just preoccupied with Elphaba. "How's Elphie?"

Nessa shook her head. "She's not herself. She's slipping away from us."

"She's dying?" Galinda asked, shocked.

"No, no, she's not," Nessa said, holding up her hands towards Galinda. "Not like that. She's just slipping away from us. From her family, friends, everyone. Papa hired a governess for her and –"

"A governess?" Galinda questioned, remembering the woman who used to take care of her. "Governesses are for children."

"That's exactly how Papa is treating her!" Nessa explained. "Like a child!"

"And it's making everything worse!" Boq interjected.

"Papa babies Elphaba. I know she's embarrassed by it. Don't tell her that I told you this, or she'll never speak to me again!" Nessa said. "Well, you know what I mean," she added, realizing her mistake.

"I know why Elphaba wanted to come home," Galinda whispered, looking down at her shoes.

"You do?" Nessa asked, leading Galinda into the living room to talk.

Galinda nodded as she sat down and began to tell the story. "Elphaba began dating Fiyero not long after I broke up with him. They were perfect together. Then, my friend, or ex-friend, I should say, tricked Fiyero into coming into her room. She was kissing him when Avanna, Elphaba and I walked in. Elphaba thought that Fiyero was cheating on her and that's why she wanted to come home."

"Wow," Bow muttered.

"That's why she's upset. That's why she's pushing us away. This all makes sense now! We have to go and tell Elphaba!" Nessa exclaimed, standing up.

Boq pulled her back down. "Are you crazy? Do you remember how furious Poppie was with us when she caught us up there with Elphaba? Imaging what will happen if she finds not one, not two, but three people in Elphaba's room with her, after she told us all to leave. If that happens, we won't need to worry about Elphaba's powers anymore, because we would all be dead!"

Nessa, as much as she hated it, knew that Boq was right. Nessa sat back down, trying to think of another way to see Elphaba.

"What else are we going to do?" Galinda asked.

"We can wait her out," Nessa suggested.

"What?" Boq asked.

"She can't stay mad at us, or at Elphaba, forever," Nessa explained. "We need to tell Elphaba. That might be the key to bringing her back to us!" Nessa's face lit up like a Lurlinemas tree. She was very proud of her idea.

* * *

"Hold still!" Poppie shouted as she tried to brush Elphaba's hair, which was a tangled mess.

"AHH!" Elphaba yelled. She tore the brush out of Poppie's hands and threw it across the room. Elphaba brought her knees up to her chest and cried. Poppie collapsed on the bed in exhaustion. She had about enough of Elphaba for one day. And it was only eleven o'clock in the morning!

Elphaba looked up and saw the exhaustion in Poppie's eyes. She suddenly felt sorry for Poppie. She probably wasn't told that there was something wrong with her until the last possible second. Elphaba slowly stood up and walked over to where the brush laid on the floor. She picked it up and walked back to Poppie. She softly tapped Poppie on the shoulder. Poppie looked up at Elphaba, who was holding the brush out to her in a peace offering-like way. Elphaba's face was still tear-stained, but she had stopped crying and had an apologetic look on her face.

"You want to start over?" Poppie asked, taking the brush from Elphaba.

Elphaba nodded. Poppie smiled, stood up and engulfed Elphaba in a hug. "Shh," Poppie said in a comforting voice. She planted a gentle kiss on Elphaba's forehead, calming her down. Elphaba looked up at Poppie. She didn't hate her anymore. This could be the start of something new!


	16. He's Here?

Poppie tried her best to be gentle with Elphaba. Elphaba tried her best not to squirm. She bit her lip and pressed her hands together to stop herself from screaming. Poppie finished quickly and gently ran her fingers through Elphaba's long, raven hair.

"You have really beautiful hair!" Poppie said, tangling her fingers into Elphaba's hair.

Elphaba hugged her knees again. She watched as Poppie walked away and gently closed the door behind her. Tears started to fall from Elphaba's eyes yet again. She wasn't hurting and she wasn't in pain. She had no idea why she was crying. Maybe she was just so used to crying, that she did it automatically. She looked down at her hands. She still had this weird power that she had no idea how to control. It scared her. Every time she got mad, she released her magic. What if she hurt her sister, her friends, or Poppie? She wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of knowing that she had hurt them. And that thought alone caused her to sob again.

* * *

"Do you think it's safe now?" Galinda asked, following Boq and Nessa up the stairs.

"I haven't heard any screaming from the room in a while. That could mean one or two things," Boq answered.

"What?" Nessa asked.

"Either they are getting along or they killed each other," Boq smirked. Nessa slapped his arm. "OW!" Boq exclaimed. "I was kidding about the last part! Maybe they're getting along," Boq said, sticking out his tongue at Nessa and running past her before she could hit him again.

Poppie came out of the room when the group reached the door. Boq stopped in his tracks. Nessa bumped into Boq and Galinda bumped into Nessa, causing all three of them to fall to the ground.

Poppie chuckled. "You all may go in and see Elphaba if you like," she said, returning to her room.

Their eyes followed Poppie down the hallway.

"What happened?" Nessa asked, wondering why Poppie wasn't injured.

"Maybe they're finally getting along," Boq suggested.

"Come on!" Galinda said, pushing herself off of the floor and running to her door. She slowly opened it to find Elphaba sitting on her windowsill, staring up at the sky. She was no longer crying, but her face was still tear stained.

"ELPHIE!" Galinda squealed, running over to Elphaba to give her a hug. Elphaba looked over and saw a pink and blonde blur running towards her. She jumped slightly when she felt the blur hugging her. She looked down and realized that it was Galinda.

_Galinda?_

What was Galinda doing here? She should be at Shiz! Elphaba decided that she would wonder why Galinda was missing her classes later and just enjoy her friend's company.

"I was so worried about you!" Galinda sobbed into her friend's green shoulder. Elphaba lowered her head. She didn't mean to leave Galinda at Shiz the way she did.

"It's okay, Elphie. I know you were just upset about Fiyero. Speaking of Fiyero –" Galinda started. She stopped when she saw Elphaba turn back to the window. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about Fiyero. She still believed that Fiyero was cheating on her.

Poppie came back into the room. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's a Master Fiyero Tigelaar here to see Elphaba."

"What?" Nessa asked.

"No! What's he doing here?" Galinda said, her eyes widening.

"Who's Fiyero? Oh, wait! Is he the guy who –" Boq started.

"Yes, Boq," Nessa replied dryly.

Boq nodded, and then realized what Nessa had said. "No, Fiyero can't come in here! We just got our Elphaba back. We can't risk her slipping away again."

"Well, that might be a slight problem," Poppie said slowly.

"Why?" Nessa asked.

"He's downstairs," Poppie answered.

Time seemed to stop for everyone. Nessa and Galinda paled and Boq leaned against the wall, his hand on his forehead. Everyone snapped out of their trances when they heard Elphaba make a deep moaning sound in the back of her throat. They slowly turned their heads back to her. She was shaking, her eyes darting all over the room, wondering what was going on.

Galinda licked her lips and walked over to Elphaba. She placed a comforting hand on Elphaba's quivering shoulder. "Everything's alright, Elphie." She looked deep into Elphaba's chocolate eyes, hoping that Elphaba wouldn't slip. She gently pulled her into a hug. "We're not going to let anything bad happen to you. I promise," Galinda said, kissing her cheek. Elphaba looked up and smiled. Galinda was grinning from ear to ear. Elphaba was back. She had her Elphie back. And she wasn't going to let her go.

"I have an idea! Let's go outside for a while," Poppie suggested.

She knew that the others were thinking by the looks on their faces.

"We can use the back entrance," Poppie said as she ushered everyone out of the room.

* * *

"This was a great idea, Poppie!" Boq said as the group sat in the gardens of the Governor's mansion. Elphaba was sitting on the grass, her legs neatly crossed beneath her. Nessa was kneeling behind her, gently brushing her sister's hair. Poppie sat next to her, reading a book.

"Yes, Poppie! The weather is so nice this time of year!" Galinda said, picking flowers and weaving them into multiple crowns.

"Elphaba and I used to always come out here when the weather was nice," Nessa said, finishing Elphaba's hair. Elphaba smiled at her sister and scooted over to see what book Poppie was reading. She frowned when she saw the title.

_How to Control a Child with Magical Outbursts_

_By Dr. Daniel Dillamond_

Poppie quickly closed the book when she saw the hurt and confused look on Elphaba's face. She knew that Elphaba wasn't a child and hated to be treated like one. Galinda saw this and took it as an opportunity to give out the flower crowns she made for everyone.

"Flower crowns for everyone!" she sang as she gave them out to Elphaba, Nessa, Poppie and Boq.

"I'm a dude!" Boq protested. "And dudes don't wear flower crowns!"

"Come on, Boq! Be a good sport!" Nessa said, placing the crown on her head. Elphaba did the same.

"Fine!" Boq said, snatching the crown from Galinda and placing it on his head. Poppie and Nessa tried their best not to laugh, while Galinda just let it all out.

"Not. Funny!" Boq growled.

"But look how happy you've made Elphaba!" Nessa said in a sugarcoated voice. Boq looked over at Elphaba. She was on her side, laughing her lungs out. She suddenly stopped when she saw Boq glaring at her. A few seconds later, she was back to laughing, her legs kicking up in the air.

"By the way, Galinda, how did you get here?" Nessa asked.

"Oh, Madame Morrible granted me a brief vacation," Galinda answered.

Elphaba had stopped laughing and was leaning on Poppie's shoulder.

"Oh, good! Because I was thinking that you ran away," Nessa joked.

"Well, I was going to when Madame Morrible first said no. But then she reconsidered, knowing how close Elphaba and I have grown and said that I could travel here, as long as I made up the work that I missed."

"What happened to ShenShen?" Nessa questioned.

"I don't know. She left. Morrible said that she transferred," Galinda answered.

Nessa let out a sigh of relief. She knew that Elphaba wouldn't have wanted to see the girl who was kissing her boyfriend everyday.

Elphaba suddenly sat up, startling Poppie. "Elphaba, what's wrong?" Poppie asked. Elphaba licked her lips. She looked down and played with her fingers, shifting her weight.

Nessa realized what she was doing. _She has to go to the bathroom_, she mouthed to Poppie.

Poppie let out a soft chuckle and nodded at Elphaba. Elphaba flashed her a grateful smile and ran back into the house.

"Sweet Oz!" Galinda exclaimed. "Elphaba, wait!"

"What? What's the matter?" Nessa asked, shocked by Galinda's sudden outburst.

"Oh no! I completely forgot," Galinda ranted.

"Forgot what?" Boq asked.

"What are we going to do?" Galinda panicked.

"GALINDA!" everyone shouted at the same time.

"Yes?" Galinda asked sweetly.

"Would you be so kind as to tell us what you are talking about?" Poppie asked, rising to her full height.

"We forgot something," Galinda said, just above a whisper.

"What did we forget?" Nessa asked, suddenly becoming very worried.

"Fiyero is still in the house."

A loud scream confirmed what everyone feared. Elphaba had seen Fiyero.


	17. He's Here? Part 2

"Elphie!" Galinda shouted as everyone ran back into the house.

Elphaba was in the living room, staring directly at Fiyero. The Vinkun Prince looked very worried. Elphaba growled and a fireball suddenly appeared in her hands.

"Um… guys! Little help here!" Fiyero said as he dodged a fireball.

Galinda ran to Elphaba and tried to comfort her. Elphaba pushed her away, and Galinda landed on her rump.

Galinda stood up, rubbed her sore bottom and slowly backed away from Elphaba, not wanting her to turn her into a bonfire.

Poppie rushed to Elphaba. "Elphaba, stop!" she shouted. She gently grabbed Elphaba's wrist. "Elphaba!" Poppie said sternly. She tightened her grip on Elphaba's wrist and tried to lower her arms.

Frex walked into the room. His eyes widened as he saw Elphaba throwing fireballs at a random person and Poppie trying to stop her. "Is now a… um… bad time?" Frex asked.

Poppie eyed him. "No, Governor Thropp. Now is a perfect time to discuss whatever you want to talk about," she said, still trying to control Elphaba.

Frex didn't appreciate the sarcasm, but didn't say anything. He could clearly see that Poppie was currently occupied at the moment and left the room.

"Your father has perfect timing," Galinda said, still sore.

Nessa managed a smile as she ran to help Poppie.

"Fabala," Nessa whispered. Feeling her sister's touch on her shoulder, Elphaba sank to the floor, dissolving into another fit of tears. Poppie began to slowly rock and kiss her forehead.

"Shh!" Poppie whispered.

"Um… Fiyero?" Galinda asked, noticing the Crowned Prince of the Vinkus curled up into a small ball.

Fiyero looked up and saw Galinda giving him a sideways look. He quickly stood up and brushed the non-existent dirt off of his shirt.

"Galinda, I'm –"

"You don't need to apologize, Fiyero," Galinda said, stepping closer to the Prince. "It's not your fault. She's still upset about ShenShen."

"Oh, thank Oz! I thought it was me," Fiyero said, slightly relieved.

"Your not exactly out of the ball park yet, mister," Galinda said. "She's still mad at you."

"What did I do?" Fiyero asked.

"Nothing. She just thinks that you don't love her anymore," Galinda explained.

"I still love Fae! I said that!" Fiyero protested.

"Yes, you told me that! But, you didn't tell Elphie," Galinda said.

"Well, yeah! Because she ran away from us and almost killed me!"

Fiyero looked over at Elphaba, who was still crying in Poppie's arms. Poppie slowly lifted Elphaba up and sighed.

"I'm going to take Elphaba upstairs," Poppie announced to the group as she carried Elphaba up the stairs.

Fiyero held his breath. He wanted Elphaba back. He wanted his beautiful Fae to return to him. He knew that she was upset with him and he had to earn her trust all over again, he just didn't know how.

* * *

"Oh, Elphaba," Poppie softly said, stroking Elphaba hair. Her voice was full of pity. People pitied Elphaba a lot lately.

Elphaba cried into her pillow. Why was Fiyero there? What did he want from her?

Poppie gently pulled Elphaba closer to her. She lifted her chin so Elphaba would see what she was saying.

"Why don't you talk to him?" Poppie asked.

Elphaba shook her head. She didn't want to see Fiyero anymore. She had given him her heart and he broke it. It was going to be a very long time before she even thought about looking Fiyero.

Elphaba took a deep breath and calmed down. She looked up at Poppie and tried to smile.

"That's a good girl," Poppie cooed, smiling at Elphaba.

Elphaba and Poppie looked up and saw Nessa and Galinda standing in the doorway.

"Where's Fiyero?" Poppie asked.

"He's downstairs with Boq," Nessa answered.

"How is he?"

"He's not doing so well," Galinda said. "I've never seen a man shed so many tears at one time. Especially someone who constantly brags about how manly he is."

Poppie wrapped a protective arm around Elphaba. Elphaba buried her face in Poppie's shoulder.

"We'll leave now," Nessa said, noticing that Elphaba wanted to be alone and pulled Galinda out of the room.

Poppie rubbed Elphaba's shoulder. Elphaba slowly pulled away and wrapped her arms around her waist, signaling that she wanted to be alone. Her hair tumbled down her shoulder and covered most of her face. Poppie gave her a gentle kiss and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Elphaba was left alone to think. Should she let Fiyero back in? She really wanted Fiyero back. She wanted him to be her boyfriend. She wanted to be his girlfriend. Elphaba sighed as she stood up to leave her room. She was going to talk to Fiyero.

* * *

Fiyero was sitting on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees and his head resting on his hands. He knew that Elphaba was never going to give him the time of day ever again.

Elphaba slowly walked into the living room. She tapped Fiyero on the shoulder to get his attention. Fiyero looked up and saw Elphaba standing before him. She had calmed down, but she still looked cross with him.

"Fae, I –"

Elphaba held up her hand to silence him. Fiyero immediately closed his mouth, not wanting to do anything that would mean losing Elphaba forever.

Elphaba took both of Fiyero's hands into her own and pulled him off of the couch.

"Where are we going?" Fiyero asked her.

Elphaba led him outside to the gardens. She knelt down under an oak tree. She patted the grass next to her, motioning for Fiyero to sit next to her. Fiyero knelt down next to Elphaba and held her hand. Elphaba stared at his hand for a while before looking into his eyes.

"Now, before you try to singe me again, let me explain myself! I'm really sorry. I didn't kiss ShenShen. She kissed me, which is a very big difference. I was trying to get her lips off of my face. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please don't k–" Fiyero rambled.

Elphaba interrupted Fiyero with a kiss. Fiyero, shocked at first, slowly relaxed. When Elphaba pulled away, Fiyero no longer saw hurt and confusion in her eyes. He saw love and forgiveness.

"That's one nice way to get someone to shut up," Fiyero laughed.

Elphaba blushed and smiled at Fiyero.

"Does this mean that you forgive me and want to be my girlfriend again?" Fiyero asked hopefully.

Elphaba nodded and kissed Fiyero again. When she pulled away and looked up, she was Galinda, Nessa and Poppie watching them from the window. As soon as they realized that Elphaba saw them, they immediately closed the shades. Elphaba knew that they were probably giggling at her kissing Fiyero. She would deal with them later.

"Are you going to return to Shiz when Galinda and me?" Fiyero asked. Elphaba nodded.

Fiyero and Elphaba walked back into the house together. They went up to her room and found the group sitting on the bed, talking.

"How did it go?" Poppie asked, trying to contain her laughter.

Elphaba scowled at her. She didn't appreciate being spied on. She walked over to her bed and sat down next to them.

"It sure looked like you were having a good time," Nessa giggled. Elphaba looked up and hit her sister in the face with her pillow. Nessa picked the pillow up and threw it back at Elphaba. This soon erupted into a full-blown pillow fight between the girls and Fiyero.

"Elphaba has announced that she will be returning to Shiz with Glinda and me," Fiyero said, gasping for air.

"Really, Elphie?" Galinda squealed, wrapping her arms about Elphaba. Elphaba giggled at her blonde friend's bubbliness. "Yea!" Galinda exclaimed. "We are packing to leave, right now!" Galinda ran to get Elphaba's suitcase and tossed her clothes in.

"Before we go packing Elphaba's entire room into her suitcase, we should go tell Papa," Nessa said logically.

Elphaba, Poppie, Nessa, Galinda, Fiyero and Boq walked up to Frex's study and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Frex said.

The door opened to reveal his two daughters, their friends and Poppie.

"And to what do I owe this surprise?" Frex smiled.

"Elphaba, Galinda and Fiyero are ready to return to Shiz," Nessa announced, gripping Elphaba's hand.

"What?" Frex asked.

"W-We were going to return to Shiz together, G-Governor Thropp," Galinda said timidly.

Frex took off his glasses and pinched his nose. "I'm sorry, but Elphaba will not be returning to Shiz."

Elphaba's face fell. Did her father just say what she thought he said? No, she wanted to go back to Shiz with her friends.

"Wait, what?" Fiyero asked.

"Elphaba must stay here with Poppie," Frex explained.

"I have no problem with Elphaba returning to Shiz with her friends," Poppie said.

"Because you are not her parent!" Frex yelled at her.

Poppie narrowed her eyes at the governor, but didn't say anything.

"Papa, please," Nessa begged.

"My decision is final. Elphaba is staying home," Frex said sternly. His voice softened as he addressed Elphaba. "I'm just concerned about you, Fabala. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Tears sparkled in Elphaba's eyes. She didn't care about getting hurt again. She wanted to be with her friends. Frex sighed as he left the room. Elphaba sank to her knees. But she didn't cry. Why wasn't she crying? Maybe she cried out all of the water in her body? She didn't think that was physically possible.

"Elphie," Galinda whispered as she, Fiyero and Nessa wrapped their arms around her.

"I'll talk to the Governor," Poppie said, rushing out of the room.

* * *

"Governor Thropp!" Poppie called.

Frex turned around to see Poppie running up to him.

"Yes, Miss Nettle?" Frex asked in a tired voice.

"Elphaba wishes to return to school with her friends," Poppie reported.

"She needs to stay here," Frex said sadly.

"How will she get her education?" Poppie asked.

"You will teach her."

"Me?"

"You!"

"I can't teach Elphaba everything she learns in college!" Poppie protested.

"I'm sure that you will think of something," Frex replied curtly.

"She can't stay cooped up here like this!"

"I can't let her go! The world can be so cruel sometimes, and I'm supposed to protect Elphaba."

"Governor Thropp…"

"She needs me," Frex whispered. Memories of Elphaba when she was six years old floated into Frex's memory. Of him rocking Elphaba to sleep, of her crying because she couldn't hear the loving voices of her parents anymore, of her sitting in the corner by herself, looking very lost.

"Elphaba is an adult now. She knows that the world can be cruel. And she is willing to face it."

"No!"

"You're babying her! She wants to be treated like an adult, yet you are treating her like a child. She doesn't want your pity, she wants your love. She wants to go back to school with her friends and have a normal life! She wants –"

"You're fired!"

"What?"

"You. Are. Fired!" Frex bellowed.

Poppie stepped back, shocked.

"Pack your things! You leave in the morning!" Frex said, walking away from Poppie, leaving her hurt and confused. Was she just… fired?


	18. Returning

_Fired?_

That word haunted Poppie's mind like a ghost. She couldn't believe that she was fired. How would she tell Elphaba? More importantly, how would Elphaba take it? She really didn't want to find out, but she didn't have a choice. She mustered what was left of her dignity and walked up the stairs to pack her bags.

She slowly opened the door to her room. Tears filled her eyes as she started to pack her belongings. She suddenly felt the presence of another person. She turned around to see Elphaba standing in the doorway, watching her with a confused facial expression. She slowly walked into the room.

"Elphaba," Poppie whispered brokenly. She couldn't bring herself to tell Elphaba that she had been fired. It would crush her. Elphaba still didn't have her magical powers under control. If she knew, she would blow the house off the face of Oz.

Elphaba eyed the suitcase Poppie was packing. Why was Poppie packing? Where was she going? Oz, how she hated when people didn't tell her anything! She hated it even more when she found out about it later.

Poppie slowly shook her head and turned away. She didn't want Elphaba to see her cry. Elphaba began to slowly put the pieces together. Poppie was leaving her! Elphaba stepped back and growled. Poppie looked up at her in surprise.

"No, Elphaba," Poppie said, taking her hands.

Elphaba pulled away.

"I'm not leaving you… willingly," Poppie added so she wouldn't be lying to Elphaba. Elphaba stopped. She looked from the suitcase to back at Poppie. Why was Poppie leaving then, if not go get away from her? She would only be leaving if…

_Papa!_

Of course! How did she not see this coming? Elphaba quickly wrapped her arms around Poppie and cried. She didn't want Poppie to go. Sure, she loathed her at first, but now they were becoming friends. And she would not allow her father to take one of her friends away from her.

"I'm so sorry, Elphaba," Poppie whispered, kissing the top of Elphaba's head.

Elphaba looked up. She bit her lip, trying not to cry again.

Frex appeared in the doorway. Poppie looked up and her face immediately hardened. She opened her mouth to say something, but Frex cut her off.

"You're right," he admitted.

"I… what?" Poppie asked, not expecting Frex to say that.

"You're right. Elphaba is an adult now and I've been babying her. I'm sorry for overreacting," Frex apologized.

Poppie was speechless. Does this mean she's hired again?"

"And you can come back," Frex smiled, answering Poppie's silent question.

Poppie's face brightened. She looked at Elphaba and smiled. Elphaba, realizing the Poppie wasn't going to leave her, smiled back.

"Thank you, Governor Thropp. And I apologize for being rude at first."

"No need to apologize, Miss Nettle," Frex smiled as he left the room.

Elphaba giggled as Poppie picked her up and spun her in a circle. Tears of joy filled Elphaba's eyes. Poppie was staying. Things were going to get better!

* * *

Elphaba, Galinda and Fiyero returned to Shiz the next week. The carriage ride back was quiet, except for the giddy giggling noises Galinda made every time Fiyero kissed Elphaba, or every time Elphaba leaned her head against Fiyero's chest, or every time… well, you get the picture! Every time Elphaba and Fiyero did something.

"Galinda, are you going to giggle like that every time Elphaba and I kiss?" Fiyero asked, wrapping his arm around Elphaba's shoulder.

Galinda bit back another giggle. "Sorry. I'll stop," she promised.

That promise lasted for about three seconds, because when Elphaba fell asleep on Fiyero's shoulder, Galinda buried her face in a pillow and laughed her heart out.

Fiyero sighed and looked at his sleeping girlfriend. Her emerald skin was glowing. Her long hair fell down her shoulders. In other words, she looked beautiful!

Fiyero wished that Elphaba could see herself as he and Galinda saw her. They saw her as a beautiful, kind, smart, loving, compassionate, confident, strong young woman. He wished that the other students at Shiz could see that. He wished that they could look past the fact that she was deaf, mute and green and just get to know her. He silently swore that he would protect her and make sure that she stayed safe. He decided to do it secretly because if she found out, she wouldn't allow him to help her. As much as he loved her, Elphaba could be very stubborn at times.

* * *

When they finally arrived at Shiz, it was late in the evening. Galinda and Elphaba decided to return to their dorm door. Giving Elphaba and Galinda good-bye kisses (Elphaba's lasting considerably longer than Galinda's), Fiyero returned to his private room.

"It feels so good to be back!" Galinda exclaimed, flopping down on her pink, frilly comforter.

Elphaba smiled as she set her suitcase on her bed. Her side of the room looked exactly how she left it; completely organized. And Galinda's side of the room looked exactly how she remembered it; completely unorganized. _Oz, Galinda, how do you find anything in that mess?_ Elphaba thought.

Galinda turned at the sound of a piece of paper slipping under their door. Galinda ran up to the door and took the paper. She opened the door and scanned the hallway, but it was completely empty. She closed the door and read the paper. Her face lit up.

"Elphie! Read this!" Galinda exclaimed, bouncing over to her roommate. Elphaba carefully took the paper from Galinda. She immediately shoved it back into her hands when she realized that is was a flyer for the Lurlinemas Dance.

"Elphie, you need to go!" Galinda wined, grabbing Elphaba's arm and shaking it.

Elphaba firmly shook her head. She had no desire to go to a dance.

"Elphie," Galinda pouted, giving Elphaba the puppy-dog eyes. Elphaba tried her best not to look at Galinda. She knew that if she saw that face, she wouldn't be able to say no.

"Pwease?" Galinda asked again. Elphaba couldn't help herself. She had to look at Galinda. And she immediately regretted it. Elphaba smiled and slowly nodded her head. Galinda squealed as she wrapped her arms around Elphaba.

"Thank you, Elphie! We will have so much fun together!" Galinda said.

Elphaba smirked as she read over the flyer again. The dance was the next day! _What have I gotten myself into?_ Elphaba thought as she retrieved her nightclothes.

* * *

"Elphaba, come on! Hurry up!" Galinda said, pounding on the bathroom door. She had been waiting for Elphaba to come out for the past ten minutes.

Finally, Elphaba came out. She was wearing a black, spaghetti strapped dress that just passed her knees. Small, purple beads formed a belt around her waist. Her hair was slightly curled and cascaded down her back.

Galinda made a circle gesture with her finger, wanting Elphaba to turn around. Elphaba slightly lifted her arms up and turned around in a circle.

"You look beautiful! Now, let's go! Fiyero's waiting!" Galinda jumped, grabbing her roommate's arm and pulling her out the door.

Fiyero was waiting for Elphaba and Galinda outside of the Ozdust. When they finally arrived, Fiyero gasped. Elphaba looked stunning. He quickly had to remember how to breathe before Elphaba could think that something was wrong with the way she looked.

"Great! You're here!" Fiyero said, checking his watch. "Fifteen minutes late!"

"Were fashionably late!" Galinda protested, grabbing Fiyero's hand and pulling her two friends into the ballroom.

* * *

"More punch?" Fiyero asked. Elphaba nodded and Fiyero left the table. Galinda was sitting with them, with her date, Kumba. They were chatting away while Elphaba stared at her plate, not knowing what to do. Fiyero quickly returned with Elphaba's punch. Elphaba took the cute gratefully.

"Shall we dance now?" Kumba asked Galinda.

Galinda nodded eagerly as the couple left the table. "Coming?" Galinda asked, motioned for Fiyero and Elphaba to join them. Elphaba took a quick sip of her drink and took Fiyero's arm as they walked over to the dance floor.

Elphaba never confessed to Fiyero that she never learned how to dance. The dancing at the Ozdust a few months earlier confirmed that. But Fiyero didn't care. He began to lead Elphaba in a slow waltz. Elphaba caught on quickly and soon, the couple was gliding across the dance floor.

* * *

Elphaba, Fiyero, Galinda and Kumba returned to their table after their dance. Elphaba took another sip of punch, but it didn't taste right. It tasted… funny. As if someone put a…

"Elphie!" Galinda shouted as Elphaba collapsed to the ground.

"Call an ambulance!" Fiyero said, rushing to the unconscious body of Elphaba.

The whole ballroom was thrown into a state of panic. What happened to the Governor's daughter?

An ambulance shortly arrived on the scene. After a lot of begging and pleading, Fiyero was allowed to stay with Elphaba.

"Fae, hold on! Please!" Fiyero begged as the ambulance sped down the road to the hospital.

As the crowd began to go back to their dorm rooms, one figure remained.

"I win!" said a female voice, as she clutched a bag containing white powder and walked away from the scene.

* * *

**Okay, the first rule of going to a party: If you put a drink down and leave, DON'T DRINK IT FROM IT AGAIN! IT'S DEAD! GET A NEW DRINK! Creds to my Biology teacher for teaching me that! And I couldn't let Frex fire Poppie, now could I?**


	19. Dreams

Fiyero was pacing in the waiting room. The nurses wouldn't allow him to follow Elphaba into the examining room.

"Hey! Can you please stop pacing? You're making me nervous!" a man angrily yelled at Fiyero.

"Sorry," Fiyero whispered, sitting down in a chair. He soon noticed that his leg was bouncing up and down. He sighed as he tried to control his leg.

Galinda burst through the doors, followed my Frex, Poppie and Nessa.

"We came as soon as we heard," Poppie said, out of breath.

"Where is she? How is she? What happened?" Frex panted.

"I don't know. They took her into the examining. We were at the dance and she drank some punch. The next thing we know, she collapsed on the floor," Fiyero said.

A nurse came out into the waiting room. "Which one of you is the father of… Elphaba Thropp?"

"That would be me," Frex said, stepping forward.

The nurse looked at him and nodded. "Please follow me."

Frex followed the nurse, and Poppie, Nessa, Galinda and Fiyero followed Frex. The nurse turned around, surprised to see so many people following her, but said nothing.

"What happened to Elphaba?" Frex asked once everyone was in the doctor's office.

"To tell you the truth, we don't know. Someone put a mysterious powder in her drink when she wasn't looking. It's touch and go right now. She's not responding to any of the treatments."

Tears filled their eyes. Elphaba couldn't die! She just couldn't!

"Can we go see her now?" Galinda asked.

The nurse nodded and led them to Elphaba's room. When they opened the door, they gasped in horror.

Elphaba was laying in the bed, unconscious. Her skin was a very pale shade of green. Galinda ran to her and gripped her hand.

"She's so cold," Galinda sobbed.

"She's in a coma," the nurse whispered.

"Fabala…" Nessa whispered brokenly, stepping closer to Galinda.

* * *

_Elphaba was running through a field of wild flowers. Her long, raven hair was flowing behind her. She was smiling. She was happy. She couldn't remember a moment when she had been happier._

_"Elphaba," a voice called._

_Elphaba stopped running and turned around to see who called her. Wait a minute… she just heard a voice calling her._

_"Elphaba," the voice called again._

_She recognized that voice. It was the voice of someone close to her. The voice of her…_

_"Fabala," the owner of the voice appeared. She looked just like Elphaba, minus the green skin and the black hair. Her hair was a dark brown with peach skin._

_"M-M-M-M-M-Mama?" Elphaba stammered. Her eyes widened in confusion. And she could talk again. Where was she? Was she dead?_

_Elphaba ran into the woman's arms and cried. She was with her mother again. Wait… her mother is dead. Does that mean…?_

_"My precious Fabala," Melena whispered._

_"M-Mama? A-am I dead?" Elphaba asked. Oz, it felt good to talk again._

_"No, sweetie, you're not dead. Just dreaming. But, you need to make a choice," Melena softly said._

_"A choice?" Elphaba repeated._

_Melena nodded. "A choice. Are you going to stop fighting and give in, or are you going to fight out of this, wake up and go back to the people who love you?"_

_"I want to stay with you," Elphaba whispered._

_"I know, sweetie. I've missed you, too. But you have people around you who love you."_

_"Pity," Elphaba whispered brokenly._

_"No, they love you. You have Nessa, your father, Galinda, Poppie and Fiyero," Melena said, her eyes twinkling._

_Tears shimmered in Elphaba's eyes. She wanted to stay with her mother, but she knew that she was right. She had to go back to the land of the living._

_"I'll always be with you," Melena said, taking her daughter's hands._

_"Mama, when I go back, will I…?" Elphaba stopped. She didn't want to finish that sentence._

_Melena knew what she meant and nodded. "I'm so sorry."_

_Elphaba didn't know what to do. She wanted to stay with her mother and hear and speak. She also knew how torn her family and friends would be if she stayed there._

"Elphie!"

_"Galinda?" Elphaba asked, looking up. She could feel herself starting to slip away._

_"It's time to go, Fabala," Melena said, giving her daughter one final hug._

_"I love you," Elphaba whispered._

"She's waking up! Keep calling her!" Fiyero's voice said.

"Elphie! Please wake up!" Galinda shouted.

"Fabala, wake up!" Nessa shouted.

"I can feel her fingers moving! She's waking up," Galinda said, tightening her grip on Elphaba's hand.

Elphaba groaned as she opened her eyes. She looked around her room and gave everyone a weak smile.

"Oh, Elphie!" Galinda cried, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"Galinda, careful," Fiyero said, gently pulling the blonde off of Elphaba.

Elphaba pushed herself up into a sitting position. She let out a quiet moan and her hand flew to her head.

"Thank Oz you're okay," Poppie said, putting a gentle hand on Elphaba's shoulder.

"Who did this to her?" Frex asked.

Galinda's eyes widened. _ShenShen_, she mouthed to Fiyero.

Fiyero, realizing what Galinda said, bit his lip. Elphaba looked around. What was everyone talking about?

Galinda turned her back to Elphaba. "We know who did this."

"Who?" Nessa asked.

"A very jealous girl who wanted Fiyero for herself," Galinda whispered.

Everyone looked at Galinda.

"Oh sweet Oz! It's not me! I swear by all of the clothes in my closet! I was with Elphaba the whole night!" Galinda said, throwing her hands in the air.

"We never said that it was," Fiyero muttered. Galinda glared at him, but said nothing.

"Anyway… I think that it was ShenShen."

"Knew it!" Fiyero said.

"You did?"

"Well, no. But I suspected that she would do something like this."

"Oh."

Frex, Nessa and Poppie had their mouth dropped to the ground. Galinda and Fiyero turned their attention back to Elphaba, who was staring at them, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Should we tell her?" Nessa asked.

"No, it would upset her too much," Fiyero said.

"But –" Nessa protested.

"She needs to recover," Fiyero said, putting a gentle hand on Elphaba's shoulder.

"Maybe we should leave now and let Elphaba rest," Poppie suggested, ushering everyone out of the room.

"Can I stay?" Nessa asked.

"Of course, dear," the nurse said, helping Poppie empty the room of visitors.

Fiyero gave Elphaba a quick kiss and left, leaving Nessa alone with her older sister.

"How are you feeling?" Nessa asked, sitting down on the bed next to her sister.

Elphaba gave her a weak smile. In truth, she had a very bad headache, her stomach was turning, her back ached, and her feet felt like an elephant stepped on them. She looked deep into her sister's eyes. She wanted to tell her about seeing their mother, about talking to her and hearing her. About how much she's missed her when she returned to Shiz.

Nessa had a feeling that her sister was going to start crying, so she quickly pulled her into a hug. "I'm so sorry. About everything that has happened to you. You don't deserve this!" Nessa said, trying to comfort her sister.

Elphaba suddenly went limp in Nessa's arms. Nessa's eyes widened.

"No!" Nessa screamed, pulling away from Elphaba. She slowly relaxed when she realized that Elphaba was just sleeping. She gently helped her sister back into the bed.

"It was ShenShen," Nessa whispered to her sleeping sister. It felt so good to tell her, even if Elphaba didn't know it. She kissed her sister's cheek and quietly left the room.


	20. Still Sick

**Wicked's 10****th**** Anniversary update! Enjoy!**

* * *

Elphaba was discharged from the hospital later that week. She was still very weak, but insisted on returning to class, despite the objections of her family and friends.

"Elphie, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Galinda asked as she helped Elphaba out of the bed.

Elphaba nodded. She was feeling awful, but she didn't want to tell anyone. She allowed Galinda to help her out of the bed and out of the hospital. She shielded her eyes from the light.

"Come on," Galinda said as she took Elphaba's hand and walked her to the carriage.

"Fabala!" Nessa exclaimed.

Elphaba looked up and smiled at her younger sister.

"Are you going back home?" Galinda asked, helping Elphaba into the carriage.

Nessa nodded. "Don't worry! She'll be back soon!"

"Have fun!" Galinda waved as the carriage sped down the street.

* * *

"I will kill ShenShen!" Fiyero said as he paced around the grounds of Shiz.

"Fiyero, please try to calm down," Galinda said, placing her hand on Fiyero's arm.

"No! She will pay for what she did to Elphaba. She tried to kill her!"

"Fiyero –"

"I will find her! And when I do, it will not be pleasant!"

"I bet it won't," Galinda muttered.

"What was that?"

"Fiyero, you need to relax. Elphaba is fine. She'll live. You are going to give yourself a panic attack. Chill!"

"I can't!" Fiyero exclaimed.

"FIYERO!" Galinda said, firmly grabbing Fiyero by the arm, causing him to stop jumping. "Stop!"

"I'm sorry, Galinda," Fiyero apologized, looking down. "I just can't stand to see Elphaba hurting.

"Neither can I. But, she's safe now. She'll be coming back to Shiz soon, and when she does, I'm sure that she won't want you babying her."

Fiyero laughed. "Yeah. Right."

"I'm serious, Tigelaar!"

"I know. I won't. I promise!" Fiyero said, throwing his hands up in mock defense.

"Good!" Galinda smiled before kissing his nose and skipping away.

* * *

A week past and there still was no sign of Elphaba. Fiyero was getting worried. Was Elphaba alright? Would her father let her return to Shiz? Where was she?

Galinda, unlike Fiyero, was better at hiding her anxiety. She would sit up until the late hours of the night, waiting for Elphaba to return. She found herself missing vital hours of sleep. She finally gave up. Where was Elphaba?

"Fiyero, where is she?" Galinda asked, walking up to the Prince in the library.

Fiyero looked up from his book. "I don't know, Galinda. I wish I could help. I'm worried about her, too."

"What if she doesn't come back?"

"What?"

"What if her father won't let her come back?"

"Poppie will convince him… somehow."

That seemed to put a small smile on the blonde's face. "You're right. Poppie will take care of any problems. I just… I miss Elphaba so much. I can't sleep without hearing her steady breathing."

Fiyero pulled Galinda into a hug. "I know miss her. I miss her, too. She'll be back before we know it."

Galinda silently cried on Fiyero's shoulder, hoping that he was right.

* * *

Galinda was still awake that night. "Oh, Elphie," she sobbed into her pillow.

Elphaba quietly opened the door and walked inside. She looked at Galinda and tilted her head to the side. Why was Galinda crying?

She slowly walked up to her crying friend and rubbed her back.

"Not now, Fiyero!" Galinda cried. She sniffed up and looked up.

"Elphaba?" Galinda asked, looking up.

Elphaba gave Galinda a small, weak smile. It was very late and she was still tired from recovering.

"ELPHIE!" Galinda exclaimed, giving Elphaba the biggest hug her tiny body would allow her to give. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, slowly releasing Elphaba, knowing that she must be tired. She gently leaned her head against Elphaba's chest and noticed something. Her chest was rising and falling very quickly. She was breathing hard.

"Elphie?" Galinda asked, looking up at Elphaba. "Are you okay?"

Elphaba slowly nodded and sat on her bed. She was still very weak from traveling. She didn't want to show Galinda how tired and weak she felt. She didn't know why. Pride? Self-Esteem? Her ego?

"Elphie," Galinda said, sitting on Elphaba's bed next to her. "It's okay to feel weak sometimes. It's normal."

Elphaba looked at Galinda, her face expressionless. Her breathing slowly returned to normal.

Galinda cracked a smile. She gently grabbed Elphaba's hand and squeezed it. Elphaba slowly pulled away and stood up. She walked over to her desk and took out a piece of paper and a pen.

"Elphaba, what are you doing?" Galinda asked, following Elphaba.

Elphaba wrote something on the paper and gave it to Galinda.

_ShenShen?_

Galinda bit her lip. She couldn't lie to Elphaba, yet she didn't want to tell her the truth. All of the clues led up to ShenShen. They had her reason and her means of doing it.

Her eyes slowly looked up at Elphaba, who was still staring at her, waiting for an answer.

Galinda took a deep breath and nodded. Elphaba looked away and returned to her bed. She wrapped her arms around her waist, suddenly feeling cold. Why would ShenShen try to kill her? Was it to get to Fiyero?

_Of course it was!_ Elphaba thought. With her out of the way, ShenShen would be able to date Fiyero. Would Fiyero date ShenShen with Elphaba out of the picture?

Elphaba moaned as she laid in her bed. Galinda knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Elphie, Fiyero wouldn't have dated ShenShen. You know that," Galinda said in a comforting tone.

Elphaba looked up and Galinda and smiled. She was very grateful to have Galinda as a friend.

* * *

Early the next morning, Elphaba woke up very sore. Her entire body ached. What was happening?

She looked over to Galinda's bed and saw that her bed was empty. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for her roommate. She slowly relaxed when she saw Galinda come out of the bathroom.

"Elphie, you're up!" Galinda smiled, jumping onto Elphaba bed. Elphaba smiled at seeing Galinda so perky and bouncy. She really missed her.

A knock on the door interrupted their moment. Galinda ran to the door to answer it and saw Fiyero standing there, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"And to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?" Galinda giggled.

"I got these for Elphaba," Fiyero smiled.

Elphaba looked over and saw Fiyero standing in the doorway. She weekly rose up onto her elbows and smiled.

"Fae!" Fiyero called, walking into the room and sitting on Elphaba's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Elphaba gave Fiyero a weak smile.

"She's still tired," Galinda answered for her.

Elphaba looked at Galinda and giggled, pushing herself into a sitting position.

"I got you these," Fiyero said shyly, giving the flowers to Elphaba.

She took them gratefully and hugged the life out of her boyfriend.

"I'm glad you like them!" Fiyero said, gasping for air.

"Okay, Fiyero! You can see Elphaba later. Right now, we have to get ready for the day! Goodbye!" Galinda said, pushing Fiyero out of the room and closing the door. She turned back to Elphaba, who was smirking.

"What?" Galinda asked, missing what was funny.

Elphaba shook her head. In truth, she didn't know what was so funny herself. She just missed all of her friends… and the drama that came with them.

Elphaba slowly slid out of her bed. She started walking to the door, when a jolt of pain hit her in the stomach. She clutched her stomach and crumbled to the ground. Galinda rushed to her side.

"Elphaba? What's wrong?" Galinda asked, rubbing small circles on Elphaba's back.

Elphaba was breathing hard and sweating. She was still very weak.

"Here," Galinda said, helping Elphaba to her feet. "You're still weak. I think that you should rest for the day."

She walked Elphaba to her bed and pulled up the covers. She was about to leave when Elphaba grabbed her hand. Galinda turned around to see the pleading look in Elphaba eyes, begging Galinda to stay with her.

"I'll stay, Elphie," Galinda smiled, sitting on the bed. "I won't leave you. I promise."


	21. I Love You

**THIS IS IT! THE FINAL CHAPTER! Thank you all for bearing with me in this story, and all of my other stories!**

* * *

True to her word, Galinda stayed with Elphaba for the day. While Elphaba slept, Galinda would squeeze her hand and hum to herself. Fiyero would sometimes pop his head in to check up on the two girls.

"How is she?" he asked one day.

"She's been sleeping all day," Galinda sighed.

Fiyero walked up to the bed and kissed Elphaba's cheek. The green girl stirred before slowly opening her eyes. She smiled up at the two faces looking down on her.

"Elphie!" Galinda smiled, wrapping her friend in a hug. Fiyero joined in and pretty soon, Elphaba was squished in between her two friends.

"Are you feeling better?" Fiyero said, releasing Elphaba from her prison between her friends.

Elphaba smiled and nodded. She felt much better. Fiyero wrapped her in his arms again and kissed her forehead.

* * *

The years past by quickly. Nessa came to Shiz in Elphaba's third year. Elphaba graduated at the top of her class, with Galinda and Fiyero by her side.

Fiyero pulled Elphaba aside the day of their graduation. But that wasn't what surprised Elphaba. What surprised her was when Fiyero dropped down on one knee and pulled out a small, black box.

"Fae, I've loved you ever since I first saw you," Fiyero began. "Will you marry me?"

Elphaba's mouth was dropped open and her eyes were wide. Fiyero bit his lip, hoping that he wasn't being to bold with her.

"Please?" he asked politely.

A smile soon lit up Elphaba's face and she jumped into Fiyero's arms, kissing him.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'?" Fiyero asked, gently pulling away.

Elphaba smiled and nodded.

"YES!" a voice exclaimed from behind them.

Fiyero turned around and saw Galinda running up to them. Galinda immediately tackled her friends to the ground.

"What's going on?" Nessa asked, walking up to the group.

"Elphie's going to marry Fifi!" Galinda exclaimed.

Nessa squealed and joined the dog pile. She was so happy for her sister.

"This is amazing!" Galinda smiled. "We need to buy your dress, Fiyero's tux, Nessa's dress, my dress, the cake, the decorations, the church, the minister, the flowers, the photographer…"

"Galinda," Fiyero said, interrupting Galinda's rant. "Slow down!"

"When is it?" Nessa asked, leaning her head against her sister's shoulder.

"Whenever Elphaba decides," Fiyero answered, looking down at Elphaba.

Elphaba grabbed his hand and squeezed it. She wanted to marry Fiyero as soon as possible.

"As soon as possible," Fiyero said, knowing exactly what Elphaba wanted.

* * *

"This is so exciting!" Nessa said, bouncing up and down in her chair as Poppie brushed Elphaba's hair.

Nessa was wearing a light blue dress with a golden belt around her waist. Poppie's dress looked the same, only it had a purple belt.

"Is everyone ready," Galinda asked, walking into the room. Her dress was a hot pink and her hair was curled and in a fancy bun.

"Almost," Poppie said, putting the finishing touches on Elphaba's hair. "Are you ready, Elphaba?"

Elphaba nodded. She was more than ready. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life with Fiyero.

"Let's go!" Nessa exclaimed, jumping up and running out the dressing room to the chapel.

* * *

The actual wedding was very nice. Frex walked his daughter down the isle and gave her away. Fiyero couldn't take his eyes off Elphaba. Her long, raven hair flowed down her back and her pure white wedding dress looked stunning on her. Her emerald skin was glowing. Fiyero gently slipped his hand into Elphaba's and squeezed it. Elphaba squeezed back, feeling both excited and nervous at the same time.

"I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride," the minister finally said.

Fiyero looked deep into Elphaba's eyes before pulling her into a long, passionate kiss.

Poppie pulled out three handkerchiefs and handed two to Nessa and Galinda. Nessa lightly tabbed the ends of her eyes, drying the stray tears. Galinda was bawling. She was so happy for her best friend. As Elphaba and Fiyero slowly pulled away, Elphaba looked over Fiyero's shoulder and saw Nessa trying to comfort Galinda. She smiled to herself as she and Fiyero ran out of the church.

* * *

A year past. Elphaba was living with Fiyero in the Vinkus. One morning, she found herself feeling very queasy. She slipped out of the bed, trying her best not to wake Fiyero, and ran to the bathroom. She leaned over the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. This took place for the next few weeks. Finally, the Queen of the Vinkus told Elphaba what was wrong; she was pregnant.

_Pregnant?_ Elphaba questioned.

Elphaba walked back up to the room she shared with Fiyero and closed the door behind her. Fiyero wasn't there, so that gave her time to think. She was pregnant. With Fiyero's child. How was she going to tell him? She had to think fast. Fiyero could be back at any given moment.

Just as she suspected, Fiyero walked in a few minutes later.

"Hi, Elphaba!" Fiyero smiled, sitting on the bed next to Elphaba.

Elphaba looked up at her husband. Fiyero saw the concerned look on Elphaba's face and his smile vanished.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Fiyero asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Elphaba gave Fiyero a weak smile, her hand resting on her flat stomach.

"Are you sick?" he asked, feeling her forehead.

Elphaba chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed Fiyero's hand and placed it on her stomach.

Fiyero gave her a confused look, still not catching on. He saw Elphaba's lips slowly curl into a smile and he understood.

"You're pregnant?" he asked her, also smiling.

Elphaba nodded. Fiyero was so happy that he picked her up and spun her in the air.

"Oh, Fae, that's wonderful!" Fiyero exclaimed, returning Elphaba's feet to the floor. "Hi there, little one," Fiyero cooed to her stomach.

Elphaba rolled her eyes. Fiyero thought that he was so funny sometimes.

"I love you," Fiyero whispered.

_I love you, too, Yero,_ Elphaba sighed, melting into Fiyero's embrace.

* * *

**That's it! Hope you all enjoyed that! :-)**


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